Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 243

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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 Know Not—Let Me Heal Instead 243

The Archbishop showed no sign of intimidation even in this moment when no one welcomed him.
If anything, he seemed more at ease than he had within the Temple itself.

“I’ll sit for a moment as well, if I may.”

Would this cup do?
The Archbishop smiled and selected a suitable teacup from the cabinet, settling between them with natural ease.

“So, what business brings you here so suddenly?”

At the Second Imperial Prince’s question, the Archbishop offered his characteristic amiable smile.

“I had no wish for our first meeting to be so abrupt either. Your Highness would be considerably surprised, and above all, you would guard yourself against me—which would be a poor position for me indeed.”

Reading between those words, it meant he had come here out of necessity, accepting those very risks.

‘If it were truly urgent, he wouldn’t sit here pouring tea with such unhurried grace.’

What could it be?
Even beneath the Second Imperial Prince’s cold gaze, the Archbishop sipped his tea with leisurely composure.
After setting down the cup,
he studied the three of them gathered here with deliberate care.

“A truly novel combination.”

The Hero who fought and defeated the evil that stained the Empire. The youngest grandson of Patrick Asteri.
The Marquis of House Bydentis, who personally slew his brother who had made a pact with the Demons and inherited the legacy of the Swordsmanship lineage.
And the Second Imperial Prince of the Empire, who overcame a tremendous curse and would seize the imperial throne.

‘Among these three, two have had their destinies overwritten.’

Priests occasionally experience Premonition Dreams, which are said to be divine revelation.
The stronger the Holy Power of the priest, the more vivid and certain the dream becomes.
Thus they fall into long and deep slumber.
For an Archbishop of his caliber, Premonition Dreams typically concerned themselves with the Chaos Era.
That is to say, matters capable of scarring the Empire or even the continent.
The first had been the Marquis of Bydentis.
Had things progressed as they were meant to, he would have succumbed to his own power and spiraled into Frenzy before long.
The devastation glimpsed in that dream was truly calamitous.
Mountains enveloping the Bydentis Territory crumbled, and countless lives were buried beneath avalanches.
It was pure, white rage.

‘And the second.’

The Second Imperial Prince.
That vision was shorter than the Marquis of Bydentis’s, yet far more intense.
A carpet drenched and reddened with blood. Corpses lay strewn on either side as though clearing a path.
The reigning Emperor. Imperial Princes. The Empress. And their relatives and the Knight Order besides.
All dead.
In the end, even the Second Imperial Prince standing before him now.
Dead upon the usurped throne, crowned, crushed beneath the weight of the diadem, his head bent at a broken angle.
Black blood pooled thick.

‘He had not overcome the Curse.’

Thus he had chosen the swiftest and most brutal path of vengeance.
That was how it should have been.
The Chaos Era had to arrive.
But.

‘It didn’t come.’

The fated Destiny had changed.
And it was precisely they who had altered that Destiny and gathered these people in one place…….

“If they gathered for profit, it would hardly be a strange assembly.”

Ricshel replied flatly to the Archbishop’s words.

“I’m not trying to poke holes in anything. Rather…… I find it genuinely remarkable and touching.”
“Touching, you say.”
“When I was very young, I was fortunate enough to meet people similar to you all.”
…….

When Ricshel fell silent as if he’d grasped something unspoken, the Archbishop continued softly.

“I mean Patrick and his companions. Ha. Yes. It holds no particular significance—merely that they are so fresh and wondrous.”

The expression of Bydentis shifted subtly.
The other two felt the same.
The tone might have been passed over as a simple inquiry about their welfare, but the phrase “resembling the Hero” was not used in ordinary conversation.
The appearance of the Hero was synonymous with the arrival of the Chaos Era.
Since the Temple was the representative institution that stood against such evil, such words should never have left the Archbishop’s lips.

“Though I have yet to even approach the footsteps of the family head, I am truly grateful for your favor. However, might it not be wise to refrain from remarks concerning the Hero, even if no particular significance is intended?”
“Indeed. I misspoke.”

The Archbishop readily admitted his fault and moved directly to the main topic before the Second Imperial Prince could issue any reprimand.

“The Temple will take charge of handling this Imperial Disappearance Case.”
“You must provide a suitable reason.”

Bydentis replied sharply.

“Is it not true that the Temple ordinarily refrains from involving itself in Imperial matters?”

The Second Imperial Prince, too, made no effort to hide his displeasure.
Ordinarily, he would not have allowed his emotions to show so plainly.
It was not displeasure at the Temple’s audacity in laying hands upon Imperial affairs.
It was merely frustration at losing the upper hand in the exchange.

‘The Archbishop has already finished his business here.’

Before the three of them could even discern his true intent.
No—before they could properly enter into conversation at all.
Which meant either that the three gathered here had already proven themselves to be of no use…….

‘Or he has already given up the information.’

Not information conveyed by paper or spoken word, but traces that only a figure of the Archbishop’s station would leave if he went so far as to appear in person.

‘How disagreeable.’

The Second Imperial Prince found himself laughing quietly at the familiar emotion, felt for quite some time now.
Just a few months ago, he had trudged through life gladly shouldering such petty displeasures, yet now, after such a brief span, he found himself troubled by so little.
He had grown fat. Kyle.

‘If you give information, you take what you’re owed and call it even.’

If you’re robbed, you take back what was taken. That was always the way of things.
Wasn’t it?
Kyle composed his expression and fixed his gaze on the Archbishop.

“Let me be clear: the Temple has no intention of stepping into Imperial politics over this matter. However, hmm.”

The Archbishop paused, choosing his words carefully, then raised a single index finger.

“First, there is an apology. I have been neglecting the curse afflicting His Highness, the Second Imperial Prince.”
“So you’re offering help now?”
“Something like that. And second—”

If the apology had been a personal feeling, this second matter was a justification grounded in official pretext.

“I have determined that this incident carries a high likelihood of spiraling into chaos.”
……
Ricshel and Clarentia were aware, but I myself was recently dispatched to the Great Barrier alongside Patrick and have only just returned. Yet the Barrier showed no sign of disturbance. While continuing my investigation, we discovered an anomaly at the Imperial Palace itself.

The Temple would not have moved for a curse of the First Imperial Prince’s caliber alone.
He had crossed a line, certainly, but it would not have been an event to bring down the Empire.
Yet this incident—the one unfolding now—must be connected, directly or indirectly, to something far greater.
At least, that was what the Archbishop’s account suggested.

‘…There’s a contradiction here.’

The Archbishop’s words contained a clear inconsistency.
One.

“Very well.”
“Your Highness.”

At the Second Imperial Prince’s consent, Ricshel immediately protested, but the Prince raised his hand to forestall him.

“This presents me with nothing but advantage.”

Indeed it did.
It amounted to having someone else remove an Empress he found troublesome.
This alone was reason enough to agree.
Yet this was not a matter to be settled so easily.
Handled rightly, he might use this incident as leverage to claim something far greater.

……A long breath.

Ricshel exhaled deeply.
The Second Imperial Prince was no fool. He surely had a purpose in all this.

“But I have a condition.”
“And that is?”
“I wish to receive all information regarding the handling of this matter.”
“Of course. However, for direct communication with Your Highness, the eyes watching would be…… Ah, fortunately I have just the solution. There is a priest I hold dear—I shall send that child to House Asteri.”

A priest he held dear……

“Is this priest perhaps……?”
“Haha. How late the hour has grown. I must be going, lest suspicion fall upon me.”

The Archbishop, finishing his words before Ricshel could press further, rose from his seat with an easy laugh, unhesitating.

“The tea was quite refreshing. If the opportunity presents itself, perhaps we shall meet again. Farewell.”

The Archbishop departed faster than he had entered.
With the closing of the door came silence, settling thick in the room where the three remained.

“……He fled.”

Bydentis offered his final assessment.

* * *

More time had passed since then.
The dragon’s aura radiating from Lion’s body was being managed quite well.
The reason being.

—Ow! Stop shedding fur!

“Grrrowl! Arrrgh!”

Tieramatrak had successfully passed the interview.
The position was, as mentioned before, that of a soldier.
As a result, Tieramatrak found himself doing his utmost in spirit form to tire out Pus.
Which meant playing with him using his entire being.
Moreover, perhaps because he was now linked with Lion…….

—I never wanted to touch objects this way!
—I adopted human form because I liked having a human body, not for this sort of thing!
—Are you even listening?!

At very close range, he could now manipulate light tools with some dexterity.
Which meant…….

“He likes it when you pull harder.”

—I hate getting drool on me! Human! Lion! Is this even right?!

It also meant he could now play tug-of-war with Pus.
Lion answered leisurely while organizing the breeding supplies.
Though one hesitated to say it, he’d never had a more perfect automatic hunt.

“Chirp-chirp.”

Lion was not the only one benefiting from the soldier’s advantage.
Nature, who had been managing the childcare duties, now seemed relieved of the burden, having made a nest atop Lion’s head and was leisurely enjoying the peaceful moments.

“There, there. You’ve worked hard.”
“Chirp-chirp.”

Nature responded with something akin to ‘if you understand, then a treat,’ and settled into her tranquil private time.

“…….”

And in this peaceful scene, there was one who remained frozen.
That was Freyanya.
As for Salamander, she was still hiding in Freyanya’s embrace and had not emerged.
Though much of the dragon’s aura had dissipated, for Freyanya—who carried elven blood and had suffered at the hands of dragons in the past—this environment was far from comfortable.
The same held true for Salamander, who so resembled her master.

‘So that’s why that witch…….’

At first, I thought she was just finding fault because she didn’t like how I looked.
But then I washed myself completely and changed into clean clothes, and after that she started sending me on errands!
And then after that, she issued a guest ban on the grounds that I’d arrived late.

‘It was all so suspicious!’

So I steeled myself against my fear and pressed the witch for answers, and…….

‘A dragon’s soul, of all things!’

In the end, I got a brief explanation.
Of course, along with a stern warning never to breathe a word of it to anyone, anywhere.
Naturally, Freyanya had no intention of divulging her teacher’s secret to anyone.
But…….

“Next time, throw the ball for me.”

-Why doesn’t this damned beast ever tire?

“It’s in the prime of play.”
“…….”

Talking to thin air like that, and having toy balls and chew toys flying about—it was only a matter of time before someone caught on.

‘Teacher…….’

That was also why Freyanya gritted her teeth and stayed close by her teacher’s side.
If worst came to worst, she could at least make excuses on his behalf.
Besides, hadn’t someone from the Temple been dispatched to arrive starting today?

‘Teacher still doesn’t seem to know.’

Everyone was keeping silent to maintain absolute stability of his spiritual state.
In any case, to smooth things over no matter what, it was better to have someone attached to him at all times.
That way, they could always claim it was Spirit Summoning if questioned.

‘……! Wait a moment!’

As she thought it through, another problem occurred to her.
Never mind the teacher.
……What about the witch?

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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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