Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 230

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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? I’d Rather Just Heal — Episode 230

The thick fragrance of flowers made her head throb.
It was a pain the Empress Palace handmaiden endured every morning while attending Her Majesty.

‘Does Her Majesty the Empress not find this flower scent dizzying?’

The handmaiden arranged the Empress’s hair while letting her gaze drift absently through the window, where flowers bloomed in profusion across the Garden.
Blossoms that could never bloom together in a single season stood in neat rows of ten and columns of order, each displaying its own color and fragrance.
An artificial garden.
It was almost a symbol of the Empress Palace itself.
When the handmaiden had first seen it, she too had thought it felt like another world entirely, but…….

‘A day or two, perhaps.’

Even beautiful things grow tiresome with repeated sight, and their flaws eventually catch the eye.
Brilliant flowers were no exception.

‘Though I suppose I at least have the luxury of disliking flowers…….’

The fellow handmaidens, who had completed their probation and been assigned to serve different princes, were said to be living truly tremulous days.
One misstep could endanger not just their livelihood in the Imperial Capital, but their very lives — more than reasonable cause for dread.

‘As for me…….’

Brush-stroke. Gentle sweep.
Even as her mind wandered, the handmaiden’s hands moved with practiced precision and tenderness.
She combed the silk-soft hair with meticulous care, adorning it beautifully but without excess.
There were no mistakes. The people of the Imperial Palace would never keep someone prone to error at their side in the first place.
The Empress’s reflection in the mirror was the most radiant and beautiful of all the flowers beyond the Garden walls.
One would never guess she had a child long since come of age.
Her long hair, woven with such delicate intricacy, showed not the slightest flaw.
The handmaiden felt a quiet relief settle over her.
The most difficult task of the day was complete; now she could finally ease her tension.
And yet.

“Sigh.”

The Empress exhaled a deep breath—unusual for her.
The handmaiden asked as carefully as she could, taking pains not to displease her.

“Is something troubling you, Your Majesty? Does the arrangement not suit you?”
“No. Emilia, I have never been displeased with the way you dress my hair.”

A relief.
At least Her Majesty the Empress would not turn volatile unless her temper was truly unsettled.
The handmaiden Emilia drew a quiet breath and, smiling softly, asked again.

“Then what troubles weighs upon you, if I may ask?”
“The princes, my dear.”
“…….”

Emilia fell silent at the unusually direct answer.
She had never encountered such a response before and did not know how best to reply.

“Forgive me, but which prince does Your Highness speak of……?”

And so Emilia spoke the wrong answer.
Rather than flare into anger at her response, the Empress gazed at the mirror with a smile as radiant as a flower in bloom.

“…….”

Beyond her stood a single lady-in-waiting, rather clumsy in appearance, who had not even noticed her own mistake and stood there looking shabby.

“Hehe. I don’t follow what you’re saying, Emilia. There is but one Prince in the Imperial household, is there not.”

It seemed as though she were granting forgiveness for a slip of the tongue, so it felt rather merciful.

“……! Forgive me, Your Majesty. I was fatigued and spoke nonsense. I, I simply meant to ask why the Prince has clouded the Empress’s heart so.”
“Of late he has not come to see me at all. I worry. Even under house confinement, he could manage a courtesy visit, surely. What on earth could he be doing…….”

The awkward exchange flowed forth with strange naturalness.
Emilia listened with the utmost deference to the Empress’s words, and the Empress spoke of her light worries as though nothing were amiss.
After that came idle talk.
Now and then she spoke of how one sometimes wishes to replace old objects that haven’t broken at all.
Fortunately, the atmosphere grew warm again.

“Now that your hair is finished, I shall see to the rest myself.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Then I shall see you this evening.”
“Mm? No. There’s no need.”

The Empress draped her slender, unblemished shoulders with arms as white and delicate as jade.

“I have kept you so occupied that I’ve scarcely given you time to rest. So this evening, you need not come.”
“Your Majesty……!”

Emilia was moved by the Empress’s kindness despite the mistake she had just made, and her voice grew slightly louder.
Then she bowed her thanks again and again with genuine gratitude.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”
“Yes. You have worked hard all this while.”

After Emilia left the Empress’s chamber.
The Empress returned to the mirror with graceful steps.
There, she smiled as she unbound her hair, which dear Emilia had so carefully arranged.

“Yes. Objects used too long often make one wish to replace them.”

If only His Majesty could be replaced as easily.
But that is not so simple.

“Is it not?”

As she questioned her reflection, a man in a black mask emerged from behind the Empress and knelt on one knee.
There was no sound, no trace of where he had come from.

“Shall I dispose of her?”
“I regret it for Emilia’s family, but yes, that would be best.”

The Empress ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, restoring it to elegant order as she spoke.

“Do it cleanly, as always.”

The Masked Man received his orders and vanished without a sound, and soon a new lady-in-waiting entered and arranged her hair in silence. The Empress, now adorned with the same style as always but entirely different ornaments, finally left the chamber.
She must visit her son—lacking in so many ways, yet so utterly precious.
Soon that creature’s companions would arrive—the one from Asteri and the scions of House Bydentis—yet oddly, there had been no sign of them.
Had they given up?
Or perhaps…….

“I simply must know what goes on inside that head of yours.”

And that very day.
As was customary in the Empire, a person went missing.
The family of the missing person, who had connections to the central nobility, fell silent—just as other houses had before them.

* * *

Fortunately, Lion’s confinement lasted only two days.
The reason was none other than.

-Sigh…… Could this really be happening?

His grandfather had found out about the situation.
Lion and Ricshel stood before the Crystal Orb in their pajamas, forced into a period of reflection.
Of course, the scolding fell primarily on Lion.

-Every time I turn my back, you’re causing trouble!

“Ahaha…….”

-You’re laughing?

“…….”

-And Ricshel. I distinctly told you to contact me if anything went wrong.

“I apologize, Head of Household.”

Patrick, who had meant to scold Ricshel by proxy, closed his mouth instead.
No matter how he thought about it, Ricshel was no match for the opponent they’d faced.
By Ricshel’s standards, he’d actually managed quite well.
So instead of his usual blunt tone…….

-Well done. You’ve had quite the ordeal.

He decided to offer praise instead.
And Ricshel, understanding that sentiment—or rather, the difficulties of looking after his brother—simply replied with a single word.

“Thank you.”

-Now, off you go.

“Yes.”

Ricshel bowed to the Crystal Orb, then glanced furtively at his brother.
The Head of Household had surely learned of this matter through Elvia.
He, at least, had tried to uphold his loyalty to his brother.
But now that they’d been caught like this, perhaps it was actually for the best that the Head of Household—rather, Grandfather—had given them a proper dressing-down.
And perhaps just a little…….
Though it was surely a disrespectful thought he shouldn’t have toward his brother.

‘Please scold him even more, Grandfather.’

Such a thought had crossed his mind unbidden.
Ricshel cleanly ignored the pleading look in his brother’s eyes and stepped out of the room.

Click.

The door closed, and it was Lion who found himself cornered.

—Lion, you little fool!

He wanted to make excuses, but the atmosphere made it clear that would only fuel the flames.

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Lion decided to simply accept the torrent of scolding that was bound to come. It was like being chewed out by a boss at work.
It was like being chewed out by a boss at work.
But there was something Lion had overlooked.
His grandfather, Patrick, was stricter than he’d assumed.
And Patrick knew exactly what mattered most to his grandson.
Which is why.
After carefully weighing his grandson’s health and everything else, Patrick settled on the most appropriate punishment.

—Next time I have business to attend to, I’m taking you with me.

Taking him on a business trip! That was the punishment.
The way Lion was acting up made it clear his body had recovered considerably.
If that was the case, then he, a Grand Mage, would need to keep watch to prevent any reckless mishaps.
Even if an emergency arose, he had the power to protect his grandson.
And…….

‘That’s taking it too far.’

Patrick dismissed his first thought and reached for a second reason.
The simple truth was that he’d never traveled alone with his grandson in any meaningful way.
Even if it was officially a business trip, wouldn’t it be better to spend the time together?

“Eh?”

For Lion, it was a bolt from the blue.
His grandfather’s business trips typically took him near the northern Great Barrier.
The roads were treacherous to say the least, and it was well known that ordinary lifeforms didn’t flourish near the Great Barrier.
There was nothing for Lion to enjoy or do.

‘Surely… he’s not doing this on purpose….’

That’s right. What mattered most to Lion.
It was his hobbies and leisure time.

—That is your punishment. After my visit to the Imperial Palace, I’ll have Elvia inform you of the details.

“Ah! Please wait, Grandfather……”

Click.

The Crystal Orb disconnected with all the indifference in the world.
With such a decisive move, Patrick would certainly go through with it.
Lion fell into despair……

‘The Great Barrier.’

……or so it seemed.
Lion suppressed the grin threatening to spread across his face with one hand.
As mentioned earlier, ordinary lifeforms didn’t grow near the Great Barrier.
Or rather, you could say they almost never did.
But. Every so often, mutants did appear there.
Like those mushroom things larger than a person, for instance.

‘Most of them are poisonous plants, naturally.’

But Lion could gather poisonous plants too.
And that was only the beginning.
He could make potions from them, or craft other things entirely!
In other words, an Experience Field.

‘Quite excellent, really.’

Lion swallowed his grin and lowered his hand.
If this got discovered, he’d be confined for certain.
He didn’t want that!

“But there was something else I needed to settle first.”

Now he truly needed to prepare to go to the Imperial Palace.
Lion smiled as he gazed at the notification window hovering in the air.

“Somehow I managed to make the deadline.”

The Cosmic Crystal Accessory had passed through the dwarves’ hands and seemed to have been completed quite well.
Lion checked the notification, drank a Recovery Potion in one gulp, then unwrapped the bandages that had been wound tightly around his body.
Confirming that his body was unblemished and whole, Lion was about to leap up energetically—

‘Oh, right.’

Instead, as though punished and drained of vigor, he moved sluggishly, changed his clothes, and headed straight out to the Blacksmith Shop.
And Ricshel, who had been watching Lion from outside the room, was—

“Hmm…”

Observing his brother looking without energy.

‘The Head of Household must be having a difficult time.’

Not entirely fooled.
It was the keen intuition of one who had endured much.
The one who had actually been deceived by Lion’s act was—
Elvia, the one who had reported all of this.

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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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