Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 177

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Successor’s a Mystery, But I’ll Happily Heal — Chapter 177

At the very moment the Second Imperial Prince felt a storm of turmoil rising within him.
Lion arrived safely at his room.
The living area was cool and silent — it seemed Ricshel had not emerged since retreating into his chamber.
Evidently, the young beast’s egg had been moved to that room as well.

‘All the better, actually.’

He’d been planning to handle matters without Ricshel’s knowledge anyway, so moving covertly like this suited him fine.
Lion slipped quickly into his room, locked the door behind him, and let his disguise fall away.
Though he couldn’t say for certain whether coughing up blood earlier had eased things, his chest felt lighter than before.
At least he had enough strength to put things in order.
He caught his reflection in the room’s mirror and grimaced.

‘I look like hell.’

His lips bore traces of red, and the same stains marked his hands and sleeves.
Lion quickly stuffed the bloodied clothes into his inventory to destroy the evidence, then wiped away the stains methodically with a towel he kept on hand.
He knew it would’ve been better to collapse and rest straightaway, but…….

‘Then I won’t be able to manage by morning.’

In any case, working briskly made short work of it.
Lion dragged a hand across his pale, drawn face and fell onto the bed.

‘Come to think of it, checkout is tomorrow, isn’t it?’

He’d need to prepare for the journey home, though…….
Never mind. He was far too tired.
Lion cut off his trailing thoughts and surrendered to deep sleep, exactly as he’d collapsed.

* * *

Not long after Lion had fallen asleep, Ricshel stirred in his bed.
He’d meant to wait for his brother, but sleep had claimed him without warning.
Normally he could easily stay awake for a full day, but perhaps—being close to his brother’s spirit had filled him with such unexpected peace that rest had simply taken hold.

‘Has brother returned?’

The door that had been ajar was now firmly closed.
It seemed his brother had come back safely.

‘He didn’t push himself too hard, did he?’

Ricshel stood before his brother’s door and let out a soft sigh.
Knocking would disturb his brother’s rest, but he wanted to check on his condition.

‘……Right. It’s still early morning. I’ll wake him after I go out.’

It wouldn’t be right, as a younger brother, to rob him of sound sleep just to satisfy his own desire to check on his state.
Besides…….

‘What happened yesterday.’

Now that morning had come and he could think clearly, Ricshel felt he’d been terribly hard on his brother.
Hadn’t he dared to threaten him?
Said he wouldn’t help the Second Imperial Prince, and all that.
He’d only added to his brother’s burden.
In truth, if the Second Imperial Prince proved unsatisfactory, it would be a simple matter to cut off support without Lion’s knowledge.

‘I’ve still got a long way to go.’

Ricshel turned inward and leveled a sharp criticism at himself, then returned to his room to prepare for departure.
Today was his last night at the Hotel, so a final check was necessary.
And as long as he was at it.

‘Might as well get a look at the Second Imperial Prince’s face again.’

One way or another, if this Hotel business was to be resolved, he’d need to meet with both the Second Imperial Prince and the merchant lord once more.

‘I’d originally planned to introduce them to Lion as well…’

That way, outwardly at least, it would appear that Lion too was fulfilling the task assigned by House Asteri—but that had become unnecessary.
Besides, it was his personal hope that Lion would have no further occasion to cross paths with the Second Imperial Prince.
The Second Imperial Prince was sharp-eyed.
Moreover, if he set his mind to it, he could easily gather enough information to deduce that the man Lion met with every night was indeed his brother.

‘Though I’ll certainly make it difficult for him to do so.’

Still, it was better to minimize contact altogether.
In any case, Lion must be exhausted by now—he deserved to be settled in at the comfortable estate and allowed to rest properly.
And while Lion rested…

‘I need to find the truth.’

The truth of some vast event that even Lion had only managed to speculate about.
It was at that very moment, as Ricshel reached for the door to leave his hotel room, that something stopped him.

…

The feeling of something overlooked nagged at him.
When had Lion started locking his door while he slept?
Granted, he ordinarily kept it securely locked.
Ricshel had heard it was to prevent other servants from being caught up in any unforeseen calamity.
But on quiet nights like these, he didn’t usually bolt it shut.
Which meant…
A sudden cold weight dropped through Ricshel’s chest.
He spun around and headed toward Lion’s room.
And for just an instant, as he moved to force open the magically sealed door—

“Haaa—yawn.”

Lion opened the door, still heavy with sleep, and yawned in a long, languid stretch.
Ricshel studied him carefully.
Perhaps it was his worry speaking, but today Lion looked especially pallid.
Or had he simply pushed himself too hard.

“Good morning. Yawn. You said today was the last day, yes?”
“…Yes, sir.”

But Lion moved with an ease far greater than usual.
Of course, he’d muttered something about being a little tired after meeting with the Second Imperial Prince yesterday, but…

‘Am I imagining things?’

Perhaps the memory from the previous night was making him read too much into every gesture today.

“Wait a moment. I’ll come with you.”
“What? You’re not tired, are you?”
“Even so, this is my first outing in earnest. I can’t very well miss it.”

Besides, he’d be returning to the estate soon enough anyway. What was there to be tired about? Lion gave Ricshel’s shoulder a couple of reassuring pats.

“Just wait a little longer for me.”
“…Very well.”

Ricshel nodded and watched the door swing shut again.

Click.

The door closed completely, and Lion let out a sigh of relief.

‘That didn’t get found out, right?’

Whether by fortune or misfortune, Lion had woken unusually early that morning.
His body certainly wasn’t fully recovered, but rather than see it as a setback, he’d hastily downed an Internal Wound Recovery Potion he’d made some time ago, then followed it with another potion that dulled pain.
And more than anything else…

“……”
“……Good morning?”

Nature, her feathers puffed out to full fluff and her expression clouded with complaint, had settled herself right against Lion’s side.
Lion suspected that the reason he hurt less now than before sleep was thanks to her.
And Nature herself… seemed quite thoroughly angry!
Bracing himself for a torrent of scolding that was surely about to come—

Tap.

Nature, contrary to her petulant expression, simply hopped onto Lion’s shoulder in silence and settled there.
It seemed she’d realized that he hadn’t deliberately driven himself to exhaustion.

“……”

He was honestly thrown off.
He’d expected to be scolded, yet instead she was concerned and taking care of him.
It was a new experience, and Lion found himself frozen, unsure how to respond.

‘…I suppose that’s true.’

In fact, wasn’t it?
He hadn’t gotten hurt because he wanted to.
He’d been trying to glean some clue about the Hero, true enough, but he hadn’t deliberately entered Story Mode.
It was something even Lion hadn’t known would happen.
Still, since he’d hidden his condition, he’d braced himself for anger.
But why?
Honestly, he still wasn’t sure.
Yet one thing was certain.

“Were you worried?”
“Chirp.”

Nature was worried about him, upset that her master was hurt, but not blaming him for it.
Lion felt a strange warmth bloom in his chest and let out a quiet laugh.

“Chirp……”
“Ah.”

At his laughter, Nature fixed him with an unblinking stare, unable to contain her indignation.
It was the kind of look that seemed to ask, ‘You think this is funny?’
The moment he registered how menacing something so small could be.

“Ow, ow, ow!”

Nature, perched on his shoulder, suddenly leaped up and bit down hard on Lion’s earlobe, tugging it sharply.

“All right, all right! I’m sorry!”

As they bickered back and forth like that, his body recovered rapidly and naturally.
By the time they were done, he was recovered enough to converse with Ricshel as if nothing had happened at all.
Lion changed into a fresh set of clothes and reopened the door, calling out with exaggerated vitality.

“Let’s go!”
“……….”

Ricshel felt a faint sense of dissonance at his brother’s display, but he didn’t notice anything truly amiss and left the room with him.
It was only after Lion employed a similar technique a couple more times that Ricshel came to realize something had been wrong with his brother then.

* * *

Around the same time.

“So. You gave him the Previous Generation’s Heirloom? Is that it?”
“I did.”
“To someone whose identity you don’t even know?”

Jack, the merchant lord who had met with the Second Imperial Prince first, stared intently at Kyle as he brazenly admitted to everything.
The Second Imperial Prince maintained his blank expression even under that gaze, sipping at the tea placed before him.

“Hmm.”

The merchant lord draped an arm casually over the back of the sofa and made a thoughtful sound.
Then a faint smile crossed his face as he spoke.

“Shall I kidnap him?”

For such a casual tone, it was a remarkably sinister proposition—but the Second Imperial Prince answered as though he’d expected nothing less, setting down his cup.

“We made an agreement you wouldn’t.”
“I made no such agreement.”

Jack’s eyes gleamed with fascination at Kyle’s response.
The Kyle he knew was not one to act recklessly.
Never, throughout all the years he’d looked after things in the previous Jack’s stead, had he shown the kind of behavior where he’d simply hand over that heirloom to someone just because they’d taken his fancy.

‘It’s not a restriction placed on him.’

Rather, the Curse that had plagued Kyle his entire life had truly been lifted.
Because of that, Kyle himself had become considerably… gentler than usual.
It almost felt like watching him in childhood.
Of course, it was pleasant and good to see such a gentle side of someone he regarded as a dear younger brother.
But that’s beside the point.

“I’d like to meet him too.”
“He’s probably already left. So don’t get any ideas.”

Ah, just as he’d thought.
Jack flashed a knowing smile at Kyle’s firm resolve, his conviction solidified.

‘So he knows who I am.’

But the fact that he was still willing to hide my identity meant he’d been deeply moved by something.
Which is why I genuinely wanted to meet him again.
What kind of person could turn my brother—raised without mercy or sentiment—soft in a single moment?

‘Well, if he’d been ordinary, I would’ve simply approved.’

But unfortunately, both Kyle and I were people who’d lived through literal sewers.
When the previous head, Jack, was alive, there were brutal training regimens, but we never felt our lives were in danger.
But after that man passed, we had to wade through every kind of filth imaginable.
And even now.
The setting had changed to the sun-drenched Imperial Palace and light-filled halls, but the task ahead remained identical.
To survive with ruthless determination.
For that to happen, Kyle still needed to be—
or perhaps, for the rest of his life, it would be better if he remained like a finely honed blade.
Because even falling in a dung heap in this world was better than the alternative.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Let me meet him too, hmm? Your Highness, the Second Imperial Prince~.”

Jack concealed his thoughts and tossed out playful teasing, pestering him with mock insistence.
While they spent time like this—

“Mm. It’s time.”

Sensing a presence outside, Jack brushed off Kyle’s clothes and took his seat.
And a short while later, the voices of three people could be heard.
The first was Willy, the manager, and the second was the sharp-tongued heir of the Magic House.
And the last was—

“My apologies for keeping you waiting. I overslept.”

The figure rumored to be an eccentric among the Magic House.
Lion Asteri, who had come to join this gathering due to formality’s sake.

‘Hmm?’

Jack glanced sideways at Kyle, then broke into a quiet smile.
Things were turning out quite interesting, weren’t they?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————