Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 266

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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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Successor or Not, I Just Need a Break — Episode 266

‘It’s working.’

This felt distinctly different from before.
Even in a state close to Original Will, it seemed the Grand Duke’s Son still responded to his child’s voice.
If this continued, I could coax him into releasing his grip on the object and extract my hand by degrees.

‘At this point, the Contamination shouldn’t have progressed that far.’

With Holy Water applied properly, he would surely be fine.
And if need be, I could simply return to the Estate and ask Licht for help.
Lion tightened his grip and was pulling his body back when—

Gulp.

The crack that the Axe had pried open widened suddenly.
As if a bud were blooming, the narrow fissure that had barely admitted his arm expanded, and thick black liquid churned and bubbled violently inside.
His premonition turned dark.
Something rose up.
Something that resembled a hand.
It seized Lion’s forearm.
More precisely: it grasped the Grand Duke’s Son’s phantom form and swallowed him whole.
In an instant, the body of the Grand Duke’s Son that had been holding him was sucked down into that darkness.

“……!”

Without time to think, Lion grabbed the Grand Duke’s Son’s now nearly transparent legs.

Splash!

And was pulled down into the black liquid himself.
That was the last thing Lion remembered from that day.

* * *

“Hack, cough!”

Lion pushed himself up and instinctively expelled what had lodged in his throat and mouth.
Black, viscous liquid poured endlessly from his lips—whatever it was, it had completely blocked his breathing.
Though he couldn’t taste it, the texture was absolutely vile.
After choking for some time, someone gently patted his back.

“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. The Grand Duke’s Son is also…….”

…….
Lion finally lifted his head, which had been pressed nearly into the floor.

‘Where is this?’

He looked around without bothering to wipe his mouth.
His vision was dim, and his senses felt largely absent.
Lion stared at the Grand Duke’s Son’s face—anxious, apologetic.

“I was trying to save you, but ended up falling in myself. I’m truly sorry…….”
“It’s all right. But…….”

I understood well enough what had happened.

‘But it was beyond my control.’

To make an excuse—not really an excuse—I hadn’t acted out of pure righteousness.
Either way, this was Lion’s last chance, and the Grand Duke’s Son was the linchpin to resolving it all.
But if the Grand Duke’s Son were to vanish?

‘It’s just a matter of timing. The result would be the same.’

Without the Grand Duke’s Son’s voice as an obstruction, the power of whoever was presumed to be the Grand Duke would have grown stronger.

‘If anything, bringing the Grand Duke’s Son along was the better choice.’

Having finished his long—or rather, drawn-out—self-justification, Lion took a deep breath and retrieved a question he’d quietly shelved until now.

‘So why is the voice so clear?’

With Tieramatrak too, and the Grand Duke’s Son’s voice as well—neither had been ‘heard’ this way originally.
It was difficult to explain, but it felt like some kind of intent or will was being conveyed.
That’s why Tieramatrak had worked, but the Grand Duke’s Son hadn’t.

“No, I’m really sorry about that. But in return, I’ll make sure you’re never bored from now on.”
“No, sir. It’s all right. Besides, I’ll soon be…….”
…….
“Going back anyway…….”

From the middle of Lion’s sentence, the Grand Duke’s Son’s words dwindled to nothing, and his expression grew as if he might burst into tears any moment.
He looked very much like a child seeking forgiveness for a mistake.
That’s what made it unsettling.
No—Lion already understood what situation this was; he was simply doing his best to turn away from it.

“At f-first, death will be frightening, of course, but with your mind kept clear even in this state, it’s livable enough. And at your side, there’s a fearsome dragon, is there not? For now, it seems difficult to meet them, but…… Ugh. I’m sorry!”

The Grand Duke’s Son finally pointed in one direction with his hand.
It was a space where nothing had been visible before, but now something entered his field of vision.
Pale, sickly skin covered in black contamination; a gaunt, golden-haired frame.
In other words—that was ‘me.’

‘What the hell…….’

No matter how many unusual situations he’d experienced, wasn’t this going a bit far?

‘An out-of-body experience…….’

For perhaps the first time, Lion realized the mistake he’d made was not ordinary.

‘What is this…… I’m not even sure how to fix it.’

Despite the hopelessness settling over him, Lion walked toward his own body lying on the ground.
Fortunately, being in a spiritual state didn’t cause his feet to sink or float suspended in air.

‘Hopeless or not, I should at least check what I can.’

Lion examined his body calmly.
And…….

“……Phew.”

Fortunately, he still had a pulse.
His chest was rising and falling ever so slightly.
Is that why the Spirit Sword Fragment didn’t activate?
But…….

‘The contamination is spreading.’

The Robe had long since vanished, and the White Gloves had turned black.
Even the veins visible on his exposed wrist had darkened to black.
If that poison reached his heart or head…….

‘……that wouldn’t be good.’

So I have to find a way before then!
First, let me check if I can return to my body.
Lion swallowed hard and reached out to touch his body, when—

[Quest not accepted.]

A small spark flashed, and his hand was knocked backward.

‘Quest not accepted?’

Before he could even process his bewilderment, another notification appeared.

[Find the Lost One]
—A guardian desperately seeks their child.
—But why cannot they come in person? Could there be special circumstances?

So, if I clear this quest, I’ll be able to return to my body.

‘The quest probably appeared because…….’

the item belongs to the Hero.

‘It’s better than nothing, but…….’

Lion looked slowly around him.
Apart from his own body and the Grand Duke’s Son, nothing but darkness stretched in every direction.
The contaminated matter he’d expelled earlier had vanished without a trace.

‘Now that I think about it…….’

Lion turned his gaze to the Grand Duke’s Son, who had been clutching his sleeve all this while.

“Young Master, is there a reason you’re holding onto me?”
“Well……if I let go, I keep getting pulled in somewhere else.”

He added that if he followed that pull, he seemed like he might meet someone dear to him—but he didn’t.

“I need to atone for the wrongs I’ve committed…….”

Evidently, he was quite troubled about having dragged Lion into this place.
Lion, in his own dire circumstances, decided to accept the weeping Grand Duke’s Son’s help.
And the quest name itself——

‘Find the Lost One.’

In other words, his role might be to escort someone there.

“Then could we move together in that direction?”
“Really? Is that…… truly all right?”

The Grand Duke’s Son glanced sidelong at Lion’s form.

“He still seems to be alive…… If the connection breaks, he truly won’t return…… That’s been my experience, at least.”

This young Grand Duke’s Son must have conducted countless experiments over fifty years.
That’s why he’d summoned the courage to cause trouble.
Just as he had moments ago.

“It’s fine. We have to try something, after all.”
“Then…… it’s this direction.”

Lion accepted the quest and, clasping the Grand Duke’s Son’s hand, began to walk slowly into the darkness.

‘This is certainly no ordinary space.’

Even if a plant’s bud had unfurled to an enormous size, it wouldn’t create a space vast enough to warrant this endless walking.
Once they’d walked until their bodies were no longer visible, strange scenery began to materialize around them.
A translucent entrance to an ancient fortress came into view.
Or rather…

‘It’s Dragnas Castle.’

It retained its noble appearance from before the Grand Duke Family was annihilated…
This must be someone’s memory.
And that someone was likely…

‘The Grand Duke.’

Which meant Lion now had to navigate the Grand Duke’s Memory Maze and bring the Grand Duke’s Son through to the other side.
As long as he kept his wits about him, it was manageable.

“Is this…… Father’s memory?”

Even the sharp-minded Grand Duke’s Son seemed to realize the situation, his words growing sparse.
His small hand tightened within Lion’s palm.
Had he not been a phantom, he might have sweated through his fingertips.
Despite his measured way of speaking, despite decades lived as a ghost, he remained a child in essence.
And the last sight the Grand Duke’s Son had witnessed of the Grand Duke Family was…

‘Death.’

Lion said nothing and held the boy’s hand firmly.

“It’s…… all right. I’m fine. It’s been decades now…… So, yes.”

The Grand Duke’s Son, who had stopped walking, resumed his steps with renewed determination.
And unlike the emptiness before, countless things now began to appear, become audible, and shift around them.

A figure kneeling on one knee at the castle entrance, arms spread wide, being swept up into an embrace.
A father and son wagering as they climbed the stairs of Dragnas Castle, one step at a time.
In corridors and before doors.
Every moment was…

“…… Yes. He used to play with me like that.”

Memories between the Grand Duke and his son.
Lion saw the tenderness in the boy’s eyes—as though he were gazing upon a true treasure—and simply waited.
Of course, they needed to complete the quest before contamination spread any further.

‘I’m still okay.’

Besides, this Quest would have been nearly impossible to resolve if the Grand Duke’s Son weren’t favorable toward it.
And more than that…….

‘What lies ahead.’

Is the Grand Duke’s Son’s Room.
When I open the door, the Grand Duke will likely be waiting.
One.

‘I don’t know what form he’ll take.’

Whether the affectionate father I see now, or the man who lost his reason to Contamination and murdered even his beloved son.

‘I can’t say for certain.’

There’s no way to be sure.
His love for his child was real, just as real as the moment he took his life.
But one thing I can be certain of:

‘If I were in the Grand Duke’s Son’s position.’

If grandfather, if family had killed me one time in a thousand…….
And I learned that it came without malice.

“……I’d still love my father.”

Yes. I don’t think I’d cover it up and harbor resentment.
In this short span of less than a year, the feelings and affection he showed me were things that could never be fabricated.
And they were things Lion—Baek Yi-hyeon—had never once received before.

“I feel the same way.”

Lion shook their interlaced hands with deliberate playfulness.

“If you get too scared, you can always just cry.”
“No, I won’t cry! Everything up until now—I only cried because I could hear his voice…….”

The Grand Duke’s Son made excuses, then huffed and boldly opened his own door.
Turbid smoke seeped through the slowly widening gap—something none could honestly regard favorably.
As if heralding a wrong choice.
It was a desolate space that no one could easily approach.
Yet the Grand Duke’s Son’s small feet stepped into it without hesitation.
Lion followed close behind.
And there:

“…….”

Something in the shape of a figure wielding a sword stood motionless.
The Contaminated form—damaged beyond recognition as human—lurched toward them.
Then:

Clang.

The sword fell. Clumsily, it knelt, arms spread wide.
Lion, witnessing this:

“Go to your father.”

He smiled and released her hand willingly.
The Grand Duke’s Son sprinted forward and embraced the Grand Duke—his entire world.
And then, slowly.
……The Grand Duke began to recover his true form.

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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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