Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 174

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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 Care About Being the Successor, I Just Want to Heal – Episode 174

It was a strange emotion, truly.
I didn’t even know where to begin, what words could possibly suffice.
The things I wanted to say were so abundant they overflowed like water cresting a levee.

‘……Perhaps this is my only chance. Maybe it won’t come again.’

For someone as unlucky and miserable as me, such an opportunity would surely never return.
And so Kyle opened his mouth, desperate to say something—anything.
Then a voice reached him.

—To my beloved Kyle.

A voice both utterly unfamiliar and achingly familiar.

—That you can see me now surely means you’ve broken the curse.

The voice did not come from the body he held in his arms.
It emanated from somewhere in the Dream Space.
Kyle’s attention turned naturally toward that sound.
Perhaps—perhaps he had wanted to listen more than to speak.
To hear your voice. Your story.

—Where do I even begin? First… I want to thank you for living. This was the only way I had.

And then the voice told of the burden of cursing the child she loved.
The words flowed with deliberate gentleness, as if to shield a vulnerable heart from any wound.
She simply laid out the circumstances and their conclusion.
Her own resolve and sacrifice were not mentioned.
Yet still she offered her thanks that he had survived.

‘Thank me?’

My living meant your death.

—The fact that you were born into this world gave my life meaning.

The next words flowed as though she had read the very thoughts in his heart.
Even knowing it was a voice like an old letter, something written long ago, Kyle could only bite down on his lips.
Then he pressed his small, thin frame against her like an infant, burying his face in the hollow of her shoulder.

—Mm…… There’s something your mother wants to tell you. My little one…… Kyle, I hope this helps you as you grow.

His mother’s voice continued onward.
That it was all right to make mistakes, that he must cherish himself.
That even small joys deserved to be treasured.
And finally…….

—Don’t trust people too easily. You know it yourself—the world is not kind. But…… if you find someone worthy of trust, walk that path together with them.

Kyle could do nothing but listen.
Simply listen. With all his attention.
He pressed every word deep into his heart, desperate not to forget even the smallest thing.
Truthfully, his mother’s advice was uneven.
She spoke as though aware that he would hear these words only when grown, yet in the next moment she would offer counsel fit for a small child, as if forgetting that awareness.
Perhaps that very unevenness cut deeper.
She had never been practiced at being a mother.
She might have been younger than Kyle is now.
And yet he made his resolve, speaking everything he knew.
It was never something to laugh at.
All the scattered worries, the hesitation—between the silences, love had been pressed down thickly, layer upon layer.
And so the letter, undelivered for so long, finally turned toward its closing words.

—Lastly. Kyle. My dear. Mother loves you so very much. Even though I cannot be with you, my love will always be beside you. I hope you live the days ahead with strength.

The word “last” sounded unbearably cruel.

“No.”

Kyle pulled his wasting frame into a fierce embrace.
Between his fingers, light shimmered and scattered into small crystals that slipped away.

“Don’t go.”

Was this really the end?
A time given only once was cruelly, impossibly brief.
Kyle looked urgently at his mother’s face.
It was hazy, trembling—he could not see it clearly.
But he could see that she was smiling brightly.
That much, at least, he could confirm.
The hand that had been stroking his back like a branch of wood now stroked his cheek.
A tear fell upon the back of that hand, from which he could now feel no weight at all.
His blurred vision cleared a little, and eyes of the same color gazed back at him, luminous and steadfast with a smile.
There lay……countless emotions.
And guilt was present there, unmistakably.
Yet she never spoke an apology to the end.
The reason was…….
She did not wish for her child to feel guilt bound by her single word.
And so his mother could not offer a proper apology even at the last.
And it was the same for Kyle.
He wanted to say he was sorry for his misunderstanding, for his resentment.
That is what he wished to say.
Of course, the suffering up until now would not vanish.
The fact that his mother had placed a curse upon him remained unchanged.
Yet even now, knowing the truth, could he resent her?
At least Kyle could not.
Looking into those eyes, how could he dare—
In eyes he did not even know the name of, infinite love dwelt.

“…….”

There were no more words between them, but mother and child must have spoken in their hearts.
My mother.
My child.
I love you truly.
The light faded, and Kyle’s surroundings blazed like the Milky Way.
It was dark, yet it was not dark.
And so they parted for the second time, and the last.
Kyle remained alone in the dream now utterly gone, and had to spend quite some time composing himself.
Thanks to the glimmering light, he was not entirely alone.
And so Kyle could rise again.
Even if this curse were to break now, the road ahead would not be smooth for Kyle.
It would still be thorny, and enemies would still be many.
But still.
The path that had been rough and parched was now dampened slightly, and to walk it would be a little easier.

* * *

Lion watched as the red-tinged dagger slowly darkened to black.
Kyle’s curse was transferring successfully.
At the same time, a smell like something burning reached him.
It seemed the disposable dagger had exhausted its function.

‘Like incense smoke.’

The kind that burns beside an ancestral altar, casting a soft glow and thin wisps of smoke into the air.
For the Second Imperial Prince, this was surely his mother’s funeral rite and farewell all at once.

……

Lion leaned back against the sofa in silence, staring into the empty air.
Something about that smell unsettled him.
It even brought back thoughts of cigarettes he’d quit long before the Possession.
Perhaps it was just old memories surfacing.
Lion drew in a deep breath, then slowly released it.
Then, for no particular reason, he stirred and checked the Second Imperial Prince’s body temperature again.
The fever had broken.
It was still warm to the touch, but no longer something to worry about.

“Make the most of your farewell.”

That was the best Lion could offer.
To do your best while you still can say goodbye.
After that, no amount of squeezing will bring those feelings back.
You forget.
No matter how clearly someone insists they remember, the emotions of that moment never return.
So all he could do was hope the Second Imperial Prince would treasure this moment now.

“Come on.”

Lion forced himself upright with a small sound.
That instant.

[You have dispelled a powerful curse.]

A notification appeared.

[Using the clue, you have resolved the Benevolent Curse.]
-Enable a final farewell. (Complete)
[Congratulations! You have guided one soul to rest.]

[You have cleared the ‘Benevolent Curse Imprint’ quest!]
[You obtain 100,000 Siling.]

[You have acquired the Achievement: Guide to Rest.]
[You obtain 10,000 Siling.]
[Additionally, the ‘Yellow Spring’ Series in the Siling Shop will be significantly discounted going forward!]

And from that first notification onward, countless messages flooded his vision.
First, as expected, the notification that he’d cleared a Hidden Quest—and rewards that were quite generous.
And an Achievement had been unlocked as well.

‘The Yellow Spring Series, then……’

He’d checked it once before in the Siling Shop.
If he remembered right, it was called the ‘Yellow Spring Repair Kit’ or something like that.
The contents, true to the name, were a kit that could repair just about anything.
I’ll check the Siling Shop later with the “Yellow Spring” keyword when I have time.
And finally…….

[You have completed a total of three Hidden Quests.]

A notification popped up out of nowhere, informing me that I’d completed three Hidden Quests.

‘But there’s no further explanation.’

Lion stared at the notification window.
Normally, notifications like this appeared when you could achieve something or had just achieved it.

‘Yet every time I completed a Hidden Quest before, nothing appeared.’

Which meant this was clearly a notification that appeared when you could achieve something hidden——but I still didn’t know much about it since it hadn’t happened in In the World.
At least, what I could guess based on my veteran player instincts was this.

‘Maybe if I clear a few more quests, I’ll get a clue.’

I had a feeling something might show up once I’d completed around five.

‘Is it something like a Super Hidden Quest?’

Well, anyway, I can’t know for sure right now, so let’s move on.
Lion dismissed the notification.
Since the quest was complete, it was time to wake up soon, so I needed to tidy things up.
First, I put the Apgrund Potion Bottle and Carving Knife back into my inventory, then took out a suitable Recovery Potion and poured it over my bloodied fingers.
After confirming the wound had healed cleanly, I disposed of the bandages I’d used to stop the bleeding.

“Mm…….”

This really does look like a perfect crime, doesn’t it?
Just as Lion was making one final check of the surroundings——

A flutter.

The Second Imperial Prince’s eyelids, which had been firmly shut, slowly lifted open.
His eyes were moist, but Lion pretended not to notice and spoke in a measured tone.

“Did you have pleasant dreams?”
“……It was a pleasant dream.”

The Second Imperial Prince murmured in a hoarse voice, then reached up to touch the wet cloth draped across his forehead.

“It seems I had a fever.”
“It was the process of the curse being transferred, Your Highness.”
“I see.”

Well, that worked out conveniently.
The Second Imperial Prince quickly wiped his moist eyes with the cloth.
No matter what, it wasn’t in his nature to shed tears in front of others.
And now that he’d awakened from the dream, he had to return to reality.
He needed to verify whether his mother’s curse had been properly broken, and there was still one more curse remaining in the Second Imperial Prince’s body.
Above all else.
He had to repay the man standing before him.

“How is your body feeling?”

At those words, the Second Imperial Prince removed his shirt to examine his body.
The curse marks that had riddled his entire body vanished without a trace, just as expected.
The Second Imperial Prince fastened his shirt again as he answered.

“It transferred perfectly.”
“Fortunately, as long as you keep the Dagger with you, no one else will notice anything amiss.”
“……Thank you.”
“You need only do as I mentioned beforehand.”
“I shall. And……wait a moment, would you?”

Without waiting for Lion’s response, the Second Imperial Prince rose and headed toward the Bedroom.
The firmly shut door cracked open, and weapons that had been stashed inside came tumbling out onto the floor in a cascade.

“…….”

So he’d shoved them in there.
Lion pretended not to notice and waited for the Second Imperial Prince to return.
Fortunately, the wait was not long.

“Take it.”

He thrust something toward Lion suddenly.
It was a small Box, no larger than a palm.

“What is it?”
“The price of my life.”

The Second Imperial Prince spoke thus and continued his explanation.

“I kept it for emergencies. I’m told that with this in your possession, you can save a life once.”
“A life?”

Items that could restore a life were few and far between.
Even his Main Character only possessed one, and he’d been too reluctant to use it, keeping it stashed in storage instead.
And now he was being given something of that caliber?
……That was completely in his favor.

“Go on, open it. I’ll explain how to use it.”

Lion opened the Box’s lid at once.
And……he could see it.

“Huh.”

The very item he’d stored in his Main Character’s warehouse.

‘……Wait.’

If that were the case……

[Entering Story Mode.]
[This memory cannot be skipped.]

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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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