Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 25

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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 Heir Doesn’t Know, But I’m Here to Heal — Episode 25

The dining room where members of the Asterie Family had gathered was, quite literally, laden with culinary treasures.
A soup simmered rich with mushrooms so rare that few in the world could claim to have tasted them, fresh-baked bread and butter, compotes of several varieties.
A salad brimming with dressing and fresh cheese.
A whole roasted chicken with legs as thick as an adult’s forearm, and a steak cut from the loin and roasted whole.
These were delicacies that not only ordinary folk but even nobles of considerable standing could rarely afford to taste.

“Isn’t this a bit much?”

Lion regarded the food glittering in the chandelier’s light, his smile strained and uncertain.
No matter how he looked at it, this far exceeded the scale of three family members sharing a simple meal.

“This is hardly an ordinary occasion, so I made a special request of the cook.”
“I see.”

It was true—the three of them rarely dined together. Rickshel thought back.
He himself had spent years either skipping meals due to illness or eating specially prepared invalid’s fare.
His grandfather spent so many days at the Imperial Palace that formal dining here would have been uncommon for him.
Only Rickshel, with his relatively consistent daily routine, might have used the dining hall with any regularity.

‘When you think about it that way, they must have been quite lonely.’

He understood now why Rickshel had made the special request.
Perhaps he’d been quietly hoping for this all along.

“Yes. We need days like this.”

Rickshel smiled faintly at Lion’s response.

‘So he’s been quite lonely after all.’

It was true—there had been scarcely any occasion when they’d shared a proper meal in this dining hall.
And perhaps his brother, with his gentle and affectionate nature, had struggled to bear the cold atmosphere of the Asterie Family alone.
He hadn’t realized it until now, but from this moment forward, he would make certain they spent more time together like this.
He would have to bring the matter up with the Family Head—or rather, grandfather.

‘Though it will be somewhat difficult.’

Rickshel still found Patrick intimidating.
Though the man was his grandfather, the impression of Family Head weighed far more heavily, and Rickshel saw himself less as a grandson than as an heir.
Had they ever shared a personal conversation?
Of course not.

‘I don’t know what to even say to him.’

There were things he wished to ask, but he’d never found the courage.
So all their exchanges remained strictly practical, matters of business and duty alone.
It was the stilted, taciturn manner of grandfather and grandson who resembled each other too closely.
Not that Rickshel disliked Patrick—far from it.
Aside from his brother, he was his only family, and his guardian besides.
Even if it felt awkward, he decided, he would have to arrange moments like this more often—for his brother’s sake.

“You’ve arrived?”

Patrick entered the dining room.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Family Head.”

Unlike Lion, who spoke to him in a friendly manner, Ricksher offered a formal bow and waited until Patrick had taken his seat.

“Your timing is perfect, sir. The food is still warm.”
“Sit.”

Patrick glanced at Lion once before settling into his chair.

‘It would be nice if he treated me a little more warmly.’

Ricksher felt a flicker of disappointment but swallowed it and took his seat as well.
Patrick began eating first, and the other two soon picked up their spoons.
The meal proceeded in near silence.
Anyone watching would have called it as tense as walking on thin ice.
And the only words spoken between them were—

“Is the work progressing well?”
“I will see it handled adequately.”

Nothing but talk of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
Only the most perfunctory questions about whether the preparations were proceeding properly.
No inquiries about his health, no mention of what gifts he might like—nothing personal at all.

‘This isn’t the atmosphere Lion would have wanted at all…….’

Ricksher found himself uncharacteristically anxious.
He had hoped this would be a pleasant gathering for Lion, but instead it felt like a poorly fitting conversation, with someone awkwardly wedged into the wrong place.

‘I need to bring up something, anything…….’

Just as Ricksher was desperately searching for a topic—

“Now that I think about it, Grandfather.”

Lion spoke first.
Yes. Breaking through this tension was something Lion could do a hundred times better than he could. Ricksher felt only regret that he hadn’t been able to help.

“Did you ever make Magical Fabric for Mother?”

Cough!

Ricksher choked on his drink mid-sip.
Patrick had the same reaction.
Patrick set down his Wine Glass and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
He hadn’t expected his daughter to be mentioned at all, much less by his grandson, and the question itself caught him off guard.
More than that, though—

‘How did he find out?’

There had been a time when he’d worried that his daughter might trip on her skirts, so he’d woven the finest magical wool, layering each strand with Protection Magic before having it turned into cloth.
It was something he’d never told anyone about.
So how could he possibly know—

‘Could Elvia have said something?’

No, there was no way she would have brought it up first.
Patrick barely managed to steady himself before responding.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Ah, well, I ran into the seamstress today, you see.”

Lion, who had broached the subject, began speaking with casual ease.
He’d been introduced to a seamstress through the blacksmith Mudu’s wife.
In the process, he’d discovered an unusual Magical Fabric in the family’s collection.

“But this seamstress told me it was identical to some Magical Fabric a young lady had given her. She said she’d never seen anything like it before or since.”

He glossed over how he’d made the connection.

“I couldn’t help wondering if that young lady might have been your mother, so I asked.”
“……I see.”

Patrick fell silent for a long moment.
The atmosphere naturally grew heavy, but Lion paid it no mind and continued cutting his steak.
Talk of his mother bordered on taboo within the family.
She was a wound that had never fully healed, and a longing that never faded.
Especially for Patrick, who had only one daughter; and for Lion and Ricksher, who had known her as their mother—the weight of silence was that much heavier.

‘We can’t go on asking questions forever.’

That’s what Lion believed.
If they weren’t to forget the dead and carry that forgetting for a lifetime, they would eventually have to face it.

‘There needs to be a bridge between grandfather and grandsons. A bridge built from parents.’

Without it, the two of them naturally grew awkward.
Neither spoke of it, yet both were subtly preoccupied.
Lion wasn’t a man without tact—he simply wasn’t watching their reactions right now.

‘The longer you leave something like this, the deeper the scar becomes.’

And he knew this truth:
Only when people could speak freely of those who’d peacefully departed could the living truly support one another.
Both the Lion of now and the Lion of memory held the same conviction.
That’s why he’d decided to commission a set of formal robes for all of them in the first place.

‘But it turned out I was the one who found that Magical Fabric.’

Because of it, Ricksher and Patrick now had the chance to speak with each other.

“Ricksher, you remember, don’t you? That particularly shimmering Magical Fabric among the things you brought?”
“……Ah. Yes. I remember.”

Ricksher answered awkwardly, casting a sidelong glance at Patrick.
He was pretending indifference while burning with curiosity.
At that gaze, Patrick slowly opened his mouth.
His tone was gentler than usual.

“I never knew where she got her clothes from. But……yes. That Magical Fabric—I made it myself.”
“You made it yourself, Grandfather?”
“I did.”
“May I ask what the reason was?”

At Ricksher’s question, Patrick’s eyes widened slightly.
He probably thought the boy was too composed to show real interest.

‘As if that were possible.’

No matter how mature he acts, he’s still just a child.
How could he not be curious?
It was just something weighing on my heart.
So with that awkward feeling, I kept drawing the line and calling him Family Head.

“There’s no grand reason for it. It’s just…….”

Patrick’s mouth worked silently for a moment before he spoke, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“As a father, it’s only natural to worry.”
“……!”

That was enough.
Lion laughed quietly.

“I’m planning to make a Formal Robe from that Magical Fabric. There should be enough cloth, shouldn’t there?”
“There’s no shortage, so don’t trouble yourself with needless worries.”
“Haha, thank you. So when would you be available to visit?”
“…….”
“As I mentioned, everyone will be wearing similar attire. Naturally, you should wear one too.”

Patrick seemed not to have anticipated this.
He’d apparently assumed only the two brothers would be dressed that way.

“……I agree as well. However, since the Family Head seems pressed for time, I think it best to summon the seamstress directly.”
“That sounds right. I’ll have her come as soon as possible.”
“Mm.”

He did feel somewhat self-conscious about wearing matching clothes with them, but with his grandsons gazing at him with such bright, eager eyes, he couldn’t very well refuse.

“Very well. Do as you wish. This matter falls to you, so proceed as you see fit.”
“Thank you.”

Lion clenched his fist quietly.
With his permission secured, he no longer had to worry about his grandfather’s aesthetic sensibilities becoming a threat.
The mood among the family had improved as well.

‘Now I can focus on preparing for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony without concern.’

Lion smiled with relief.
Thinking that nothing would go wrong at least until the Coming-of-Age Ceremony…….

* * *

Fortunately, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony preparations proceeded smoothly according to Lion’s plan.
Apart from the seamstress Andrie trembling as she took measurements, his grandfather’s Formal Robe began to be made without a hitch, and the work of decorating the banquet hall for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony party and sending out invitations was all taken care of.
It was possible thanks to the Asterie Family’s absolute support.

“Brother, please don’t overexert yourself—leave the tedious work to me. I’ll handle the invitation distribution as well.”
“Surely the Asterie Family isn’t worrying about money? Spare no expense on any of it.”

From that evening onward, not only Ricksher but even Patrick actively helped Lion in subtle ways.

‘I wasn’t asking for this when I brought up that matter.’

The tasks he needed to handle had decreased significantly.
Really, all Lion had to do was check where those two were inserting their questionable aesthetic sensibilities next.
Because of this, even though he should have been quite busy now, he was able to devote time to learning Sewing technique.

“Mm…….”

But this was proving far from easy.
I’d clumsily traced patterns and attempted to stitch them together, yet

[New Talent Acquired: Sewing]
[Sewing Proficiency has reached Apprentice Lv.1.]

……nothing of the sort occurred.

“Hmm.”

Why was that?
It wasn’t quite at the level of blacksmithing, but I’d managed to craft it with at least the refinement of cooking.
That meant proficiency wasn’t the issue.
Besides, I hadn’t used a loom—I’d started from scratch and laid a proper foundation.
And yet the bloom of talent remained dormant.

‘Could it be that I have no talent for this?’

Lion immediately shook his head. That seemed unlikely.
I’d been sewing for years. If anything, cooking had shown less promise than this.

‘What’s the difference between the two? Perhaps I need a proper teacher after all.’

That was at least a possibility.
Even if alchemy had been self-teachable because of the potion-crafting specialization, everything else had required someone to guide me—a teacher in all but name.

“But this also doesn’t feel…… quite right. It seems off.”

While I was turning these thoughts over,
Elvia emerged from the darkness with a soft, whispering sound.

“Young Master. Andrie has arrived.”
“Ah. Is the robe finished?”
“The Formal Robe appears to be complete, from what I could see, though her expression seemed rather odd.”

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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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