Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 252

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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 Training and Healing — Episode 252

“…To the Young Master?”
“Yes. There’s something urgent I need to discuss with him.”

Barg looked at Licht, then let his gaze drift away.

‘That’s a lie, isn’t it.’

The priest had already sensed much, it seemed.
There was no way around it.

‘He’s no ordinary person.’

Barg had witnessed Licht’s behavior directly at the Temple.
More precisely, Licht’s conduct in situations where Lion was absent.

‘He’s fundamentally a good man, that much is certain.’

But separate from that, he was no match less than the Young Master.
Of course, Ricshel had far more practical combat experience, so if they truly fought, the Young Master would win—but that was beside the point.
The problem was.

‘I…I don’t have the ability to do that…!’

Barg was still clumsy with people.
More accurately, his social finesse fell short.
But real situations always arrived without warning.
Barg wracked his brain to imitate the Young Masters’ ways.

“I…if you’d tell me what you wish to discuss, I could go ask for you.”
“No. It’s something I must convey directly, I’m afraid.”
“Th…then if you could wait here for a moment….”
“It seems he’s at the Estate. I shall accompany you there.”
“….”

The attempt was sound, but imitation did not make one the original.

‘What do I do…?’

Even by Barg’s judgment, letting the priest meet Lion right now seemed unwise.
Barg made a small internal squeak.
Then.

“Let us go find him together, shall we.”
“Hmm? And you are…”
“I am Urhil, assigned to guard alongside Barg. I’ve only just arrived, as there was pressing business to attend to.”

Urhil answered in proper, natural speech, emphasizing the word “alongside” deliberately.

“However, I cannot at present pinpoint Young Master Ricshel’s exact location, so it may take some time. Would that be acceptable?”
“….”

Licht regarded the giant knight.

‘This one is likely…’

The one involved in that Bear Incident from the Village.
A Beast-human bear.
I’d heard that Lion showed mercy, but I never expected we’d end up living like this together.

‘At least with him, I could manage to get by somehow.’

This Urhil seemed to have considerable experience in situations like this.

‘And if they’re defending it this thoroughly…’

There was no point trying to leave through the front entrance.
Licht decided to step back for now.

“No, not at all. It seems I’ve made an unreasonable request during a busy time for you. I’ll wait here instead. Would you be kind enough to tell me what’s happened?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”

Licht answered with a prayer in place of a bow, then slowly closed the door behind him.

“Phew. Th-thank you so much.”
“The senior’s in a bind. This much is nothing.”

Urhil watched Barg exhale deeply as if relieved of a burden, then fixed his gaze on the firmly closed door.

“But that priest—he won’t try something else, will he?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like escaping through the window.”
“……Even so, could he really do that? He’s a priest, after all.”

Besides, this wasn’t just any guest room—it was situated quite high up.
If an ordinary person fell from this height, they’d sustain a serious injury.

‘Wait.’

Barg recalled Licht’s appearance.
The priest’s robes made it hard to assess clearly, but hadn’t he noticed how solidly built the man was for a clergyman?
And more than that…

‘He’s close with Lion.’

Which meant there was no telling what reckless thing he might do!
The moment Barg finished that thought, he didn’t even bother knocking—he threw the door wide open!
And he saw it.
The window standing wide open, curtains fluttering in the breeze.
And the empty room.

“Hah.”

Urhil walked to the window and peered outside, letting out a dry laugh.

“Just who exactly is this Young Master, to attract people like that?”
“……That’s what I’d like to know.”

Barg sighed deeply and trudged out of the room.
It was truly unfortunate that things had come to this, but…

“Well, I suppose we’d better f-find him and bring him back.”
“Agreed.”

Since the situation had already unfolded this way, they might as well try to clean it up.
Barg and Urhil.
The two beast-humans resolved to track down the priest.

* * *

While that commotion unfolded elsewhere, Lion and Ricshel were enjoying a moment of peace.
At last, they had ended up doing exactly what Ricshel wanted—playing in the sand!

“But I’m not a child, I tell you……”

Lion had been earnestly insisting on his mental maturity.

‘Yet he does enjoy it after all.’

As if the mind followed the body’s whims, Lion plunked himself down onto the soft, piled sand with an almost dreamy absorption, losing himself entirely in building sandcastles.
Though they were hardly the sort of castles ordinary children constructed.

“Heave.”

Using wooden forms to frame the structure, he layered wet, fine sand upward to fashion spires, then etched brick patterns into the walls with a twig.

“Mm-mm……!”

Lion’s lips jutted out in concentration as he struggled to control his small hands.
Because the body was that of a child, his fingers lacked the dexterity to carve the precise designs he envisioned.
Watching Lion exhale sharply in frustration at his body’s refusal to obey, Ricshel ventured carefully:

“Brother, would you perhaps allow me to try?”
“Hmm?”

Wait—!
Lion suddenly realized how utterly absorbed he had become in building sandcastles.
He had even been enjoying himself!

‘What, at my age?’

Certainly, he enjoyed making and building things—that was true enough.
After all, he had poured himself into creation as a craft.
But even so, he had never indulged in sandcastles quite like this.
And it wasn’t even advancing his abilities!

‘Could it be because I’m a child?’

A reasonable deduction.
Lion, inwardly flustered, smoothly ceded the twig to Ricshel nonetheless.

“Thank you. Would this work?”

And though Ricshel had clearly sensed the entire disturbance, he feigned ignorance, deftly etching the brick pattern Lion had yearned to carve with quick, practiced strokes.

“Ah, yes. Just like that.”
“Such fine detail is difficult even with my own hands.”
“Is it really?”
“Indeed. Apply even a little pressure and the lines carve too deep. Yet brother, for being so young now, you’re remarkably skilled at it.”

At Ricshel’s words, Lion’s expression softened.
Under normal circumstances, such mild praise would not have moved him.

A small smile.

Laughter escaped unbidden from his lips.

‘……How adorable.’

Ricshel took in every detail of the scene and found himself wondering.
Had his brother always seen him this way?
Perhaps that was why he so often wanted to protect him, to help him — because this was precisely what Ricshel felt now.
This tender, protective instinct.

“All done!”

With Ricshel’s assistance, Lion finished the delicate work, smoothed out the parts that displeased him, then stepped back and cheered with delight.

‘Why does this feel so satisfying?’

There was still a faint sense of discord inside him, true, but the immediate joy far outweighed it.
And if he was being honest, there was a real satisfaction in finally doing the kind of play he’d never properly managed as a child.

“You truly are remarkable, brother.”

Ricshel offered the praise with genuine warmth, then gently wiped Lion’s hands and cheeks clean with the handkerchief.

“Will you play indoors with me next?”
“Hm? Play again?”

Wasn’t this enough?
And surely Ricshel had his own duties to attend to…… Lion was thinking exactly this when—

“Yes. When I was younger, I wanted to build with blocks, but I never had the chance because of my heir training. There’s always been a regret…….”
“Come on, let’s go right now!”
“Thank you.”

Now that Ricshel had grown accustomed to handling his younger brother, he reached down to lift him again.

“No, I’ll walk this time.”

Being carried twice in a row felt a bit much, even so.
His legs didn’t hurt, and it had been comfortable, but there was something awkward about being held like that…….

“If that’s what you wish.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

If anything, being small meant his energy was boundless.
He didn’t even feel hungry.

“Hmm…….”

Ricshel deliberated, then quietly extended his hand.

“In that case, let me hold your hand so you don’t trip. Children and adults have different centers of gravity, after all.”

-That’s right. You almost fell just now.
-If I hadn’t been there to cushion you, you’d have gotten a bump on your forehead.

A fair point.
Lion reached up and grasped Ricshel’s fingers.
Soft and warm, his palm closed gently around them.

…….

Ricshel had to fight with all his might to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

‘The Estate Master would’ve been quite envious if he’d seen this.’

Ricshel, hastily smoothing over the moment with a dry cough, moved to a different spot at an deliberately leisurely pace.
Then.
Someone flashed a quick hand signal from between the thickets.
It was Freyanya, unmistakably.
The signal’s message was…….

‘So we’ve lost him after all.’

Licht had disappeared.
The servants kept reporting his location, but he moved with an almost supernatural elusiveness.

‘I suppose I should have seen it coming.’

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, though at minimum he’d hoped to spare Lion a meeting with Licht for at least today. Besides, Lion himself seemed reluctant to encounter the priest.
More than that, Lion didn’t appear eager to meet with Licht either.

Swift as wind.

Ricshel sent a hand signal through gesture and glance, keeping it hidden from Lion.

Do whatever.
You can.

“……!”

Freyanya nodded so vigorously her pointed hat nearly tumbled from her head before vanishing back into the thickets.
She used to stumble even on cleared forest paths; now her movements had a distinctly elfish grace.
She’d clearly honed her skills during the time away from the Estate.

‘She’s become quite useful.’

There was barely any gap in her abilities now, even standing beside Lion.

“What is it?”
“Nothing, sir. Just a bit of sand dust irritating my face.”
“Let’s get inside and wash up first.”
“Yes, Lion.”

Leaving Licht’s matter in Freyanya’s hands, Ricshel returned slowly with Lion to his room within the Estate.
After that, he played extensively with Lion and, coaxing the reluctant boy into eating despite his protests of not being hungry, managed to get a proper meal into him.
And finally, when it came time for a bath and they were in the midst of a spirited tussle over it——

Bang.

The door swung open.
Licht stumbled in from outside, utterly drained as though he’d been through every hardship imaginable, breathing heavily.

“……So you came after all.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’ve been hiding that warranted putting me through such an ordeal, Ricshel…….”

Licht’s words had grown uncharacteristically sharp from all the suffering he’d endured.

“…….”

But when his eyes met those of the boy clinging to what appeared to be Lion’s fox companion, staring at him with pupils that wavered and unfocused, he could only fall silent.
Licht’s mind raced faster than usual, and he quickly arrived at his conclusion.

“Lion……?”

Perhaps it was a small mercy that Lion himself was confirmed to be the one in question—not some hidden child of another.

“…Ha ha ha. Good to see you, Priest Licht. I can explain everything, so if you’d just come inside for a moment… Hic.”

Lion had been preparing to explain the situation calmly.
But his composure faltered.
He finished with a dignified hiccup.
Sigh… What a day.
Nothing but embarrassment from start to finish.

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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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