Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 249

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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 Knows Nothing; I Just Want to Heal — Chapter 249

The Imperial Palace had descended into its greatest turmoil since the Emperor’s ascension.
The cause was, as expected, the Archbishop.
It was astonishing that the Archbishop had refrained from reaching into Imperial affairs until now, considering how thoroughly he had blown matters open.
He had made it official.
In the State Council, no less.

“The Missing Persons Incident involving the Imperial Family is connected to the Demon Race.”
“And, as it happens, most of those missing have been found to vanish from the Empress Palace’s Garden.”

He had hardened his affable face, speaking as though some terrible calamity had struck.

“Did you hear? From the Empress Palace….”
“Now that you mention it, didn’t that maidservant also disappear recently?”
“Good heavens….”

The nobles whose interests were entangled in various causal relationships had hushed the matter as much as they could, but the palace servants and retainers were different.
The Central Nobility would be safe enough, but weren’t we forced to set foot in this place directly?
It was inevitable that fear would spread among them.

“…We’ll die if we misspeak, and we’ll die if luck doesn’t favor us either.”
“Sob, I’m so frightened….”
“I’m the pillar of my house, and if I make a wrong move, my whole family will collapse.”

Practical fear spreads faster than anything.

“We can’t go on like this.”
“I… I have to survive!”

The servants who oversaw the Empress Palace submitted their resignations or requested leaves of absence, each citing different reasons.
Naturally, the Empress Palace, famous for its magnificence, crumbled in an instant.
The Garden, which had been filled with an exquisitely beautiful floral fragrance, began to reek of rotting plants as it fell into disrepair, and with the maidservants who had dressed the Empress and attended to her appearance gone, her wardrobe grew sparse.
Given the circumstances, even the Imperial Palace and the First Prince Palace could not spare anyone.
Or rather, they had chosen not to send help because their own safety took precedence.

“The situation is dire, Your Majesty.”

Nord Lepicent, the leader of the Central Nobility who had grasped the gravity of affairs, came directly to his daughter’s chambers.
He made no effort to hide his disappointment in his daughter.
The reproachful gleam in his eyes, unlike his usual composed demeanor, forced the Empress to grip her dress fabric tightly beneath the table.

“…I beg your forgiveness, Father.”
“You should indeed.”
“….”
“Due to the present crisis, the unity of the Central Nobility has crumbled, and there are countless who have turned to the Second Prince Faction. Do you understand what that means?”

Nord Lepicent’s voice grew heavy with suppressed anger.

“It means the standing of my Lepicent Marquis Family has been diminished.”

His voice rose higher, and his hands trembled as though he might raise them at any moment.
The Empress kept her gaze fixed upon all of it, taking great care not to bow her head.
Such a gesture would only kindle her father’s rage.

“Haah….”

Nord Lepicent exhaled a long, heavy breath, then spoke with firm resolve.

“First, bear in mind that this alone will not bring down the Empress.
The attendants will return, and it will become clear that she was not behind it.”
“You mean to say.”
“You understand, do you not. Empress.”

The Marquis replied, drawing his wrinkled hand across his face.

“Abandon him. The First Imperial Prince.”
“How could a mother cast aside her own son?”

Speaking thus, the Empress covered her mouth with her hand.
Her outward expression was that of a grief-stricken mother, yet the corner of her mouth that peeked out from between her small fingers curved upward in a smile.
She had known all along how things would unfold.
As the heart of the Central Nobility and the acknowledged daughter of the Lepicent Marquis Family, the position of Empress was not so easily toppled.
But what had troubled her was.

‘Whether our aging father might make some foolish choice.’

She had fretted lest he favor the other boy simply because her own son was young and held the title of First Imperial Prince.
Better by far to sacrifice the First Imperial Prince and secure a place beneath the Second Prince—to live in obscurity and protect herself.
Of course, the Empress was not entirely without maternal affection.

“What in the world were you thinking!”
“Because of Mother, my own position has become precarious.”
“Appeal to the Marquis Nord to manage this, or do whatever you can to minimize the damage.”
“Blast it all—while I’ve been confined, everything has fallen to pieces!”

The moment she saw the First Imperial Prince arrive before anyone else after the Archbishop’s words spread, rushing to her side with accusations, what little affection remained had evaporated entirely.
The pitiful intellect that did not grasp how abandoning him would leave the First Imperial Prince like a kite with its string cut, a bird without a nest, was merely the icing on an already bitter cake.

‘How he resembles the Emperor even in such things.’

The Empress smoothed the corner of her mouth back down and lowered her hand, answering as deliberately as she could manage.

“Yet Father’s words are graver still…… I shall need time to consider.”
“A day should suffice.”
“I shall give you my answer as swiftly as possible, Father.”
“Very well. And…….”

Nord Lepicent rose from his seat and spoke with unmistakable finality.

“I have no connection to the Demon Race. My daughter equally has none.”
“Of course not, Father. This is all slander.”
“There will be no second chance.”

It was a warning that should anything similar occur, he would cast her aside without hesitation.

“I shall remember it well.”

It was considerably cold for words spoken between family, yet the Empress accepted it as naturally as breathing.
Such was the nature of family as she had always known it.
One merely stood with whoever brought benefit to oneself.

“Go well.”

Nord Lepicent departed without hesitation, and the Empress allowed herself a moment of relief.
And…….

* * *

“……Oh my. You must be suffering terribly.”

The Archbishop stood in the dim corridor of the Empress Palace, regarding the foolish figure before him.
The First Imperial Prince.
Unfortunately, he had caught the entire conversation.

“Archbishop. What safety do you speak of now——!”
“Lower your voice, if you would.”

The Archbishop smiled warmly and reached out, pressing a hand over the First Prince’s mouth.

“Especially now, you must be even more cautious, must you not? You have no one left to trust.”

At that soft, measured tone, the First Prince flinched.
Once the Archbishop withdrew his hand, the First Prince hastily stammered an excuse, his voice even smaller than before.

“I—I am no conspirator. The Missing Persons Incident is no concern of mine. You know that. I am already confined to the Prince Palace, unable to leave…….”
“But First Imperial Prince.”

The Archbishop’s brows drooped as though in regret.

“It was you who placed the curse upon the Second Imperial Prince, was it not?”
“That was…….”
“That alone is sufficient proof.”
“What—what must I do?”

At the First Prince’s question, the Archbishop shook his head.
As if nothing need be done.
Or rather, as if he already knew everything.
The First Prince felt a chill run through him.
Until now, the Archbishop had shown no interest whatsoever in political affairs.
Moreover, he had been taught that the Temple itself had shrunk considerably in scope over fifty years of peace.
And so, without realizing it, he had come to regard the Archbishop as a harmless figure.
But he was wrong.
Those eyes.

‘Those are not the eyes an Archbishop should have.’

The First Prince lacked ability.
But before the strong, he possessed an instinctive and peculiar talent—like a prey animal—for swiftly reading another’s hunger.

“Ah.”

The Archbishop, knowing full well what the First Prince had grasped, dismissed it and uttered a small exclamation, as if remembering something trivial, then spoke casually.

“I have nothing I desire at this very moment…… but if matters proceed as they are, surely Your Highness will become most anxious.”
“Y-yes. So then, anything at all.”

After all, as the first servant of that person, it would not do to torment someone needlessly.

“Then shall we make a small deal?”

* * *

An island.
Of course, In the World contained countless islands.
But there was only one island that had to be found to be discovered.
Colloquially known as Mermaid Island.
A place where, it was said, a kingdom of mermaids once existed…….

‘It was an Event Map.’

Before In the World replaced all events with Ester Hotel due to reward inflation and other issues.
The early summer event, conducted in its fresh, vibrant infancy, had been held on Mermaid Island.

-A place you could only reach by going to a specific location on a specific day.
-A space where mysterious mermaids had dwelt.
-In the past, all manner of treasures the mermaids had gathered slept beneath the wreckage of a sunken pirate ship.

……or so the description had gone, probably.
Of course, Lion had been there.
He’d done the treasure hunt event, the Labyrinth escape event—the works.
The problem was.

“How to actually get there, apparently.”

Before possession, a single click would’ve done it. Now he had to pound the pavement and search for it himself.
And worse, the NPCs didn’t know anything about Mermaid Island either.

“No decent information anywhere…….”

-Huh? You’re not just rambling on about nothing, are you?
-Going? What going!

Lion pondered deeper.
Now that he thought about it…….
There was one way, wasn’t there?

Lion tried to recall in greater detail how he’d reached the Event Map—no, Mermaid Island.
He was certain he’d clicked on a pool inside some cave…….

“Mm.”

What he remembered clearly was that it was a specific map in the Southern Region.

‘If I can just find that spot.’

If the Saintess and his main character had found that location, they surely would’ve left something behind.
And if they had, then just going near there might let him travel to Mermaid Island.
Like with the Labyrinth.

‘So first I need information about the Saintess and the Southern Region.’

He’d ask Licht about the Saintess.
As for the Southern Region…….
Lion was just beginning to follow that thought when——

[Penalty applied.]

“……Huh?”

A penalty notification appeared with no further explanation attached.
And Lion’s body…….

“…….”

Was completely fine.
Lion examined the notification window and his own body in turn.
Wondering if it was a penalty on some item, he checked his inventory, but everything was intact.
Even the Map had—when exactly?—returned to “Bound” status and now sat quietly in one corner of his inventory.
So nothing had actually happened at all.

‘……But that’s what makes it even more frightening.’

Lion found himself rubbing his arm for no particular reason.
Although nothing had occurred yet, the notification about the Penalty still lingered, occupying a corner of his vision without disappearing.
It would likely vanish once the ‘real’ Penalty took effect.

‘I should check the Map next time.’

By this point, even Lion couldn’t help but think he needed rest.
Besides, apart from the Penalty, he had a bit of a headache too.

-Finally thinking about resting?
-Let’s rest already. Get out of here! Back to the room—let’s sleep with that drooling beast!

“Yeah. That’s what I should do.”

Lion slowly got to his feet in the destroyed Recovery Room and returned to his quarters.
Elvia hadn’t returned from the Imperial Palace yet, nor had his grandfather—and his brother was still there too, so he needed to conserve his strength as much as possible in the meantime.

Thud.

Lion collapsed onto the bed as he was.
Pus scurried over and nestled against Lion’s ribs, while Nature chirped softly from the head of the bed.
She seemed to understand, at least to some degree, what had transpired.

-Yeah! Scold him more. He really needs a proper scolding!
-So young, and already pushing himself to the limit like that?
-If that’s how it is, give me your body! I’ll use it wisely!

‘Such nagging…….’

Lion let out a hollow laugh at the sight of Tiamatark muttering on and on to Nature about everything that had happened, and let his eyes fall shut.
And then, several days later, on an ordinary day.
Lion finally understood what the Penalty was.

“Eh??”

……It was rather absurd!

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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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