Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 276

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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 Doesn’t Care — I Just Want to Heal | Episode 276

There were sound reasons for my certainty that Lion was lying.
First.
His movements were far more guarded than usual.

“Lion, aren’t you having any bread?”
“Ah… my appetite’s just not there today. I think I ate too much yesterday.”

Though he never ate large quantities, Lion ordinarily sampled everything on his plate evenly. Yet the bread sat untouched.
It could be genuine — hunger truly absent, digestion still troubled.

‘But he emptied the soup.’

Beyond that, he’d eaten the softly cooked salmon steak and the salad with croutons and cheese in his usual portions.
In other words, claiming he wasn’t hungry was false.
So why wouldn’t he eat the bread?

‘He doesn’t want to take off his gloves.’

It wasn’t only the gloves, though.
Lion never changed out of his day clothes before breakfast except when he was heading to the Labyrinth.
Normally, he should have been in comfortable pajamas.
Yet today, as last night, he was covered from head to toe.
No overcoat, but he’d buttoned his shirt up to the handkerchief—highly unusual.
And furthermore….

‘He’s showing no discomfort.’

Normally, his restlessness would show through his movements.
He’d fidget with his throat, unconsciously reach to remove his gloves—something I’d notice.
But not once.

‘He hasn’t touched anything.’

In other words, Lion was deliberately hiding his body.
I couldn’t discern the reason—no information had reached me.

‘Then is he hiding it from Father too?’

It was possible, but even if Lion were concealing something, would Father truly not know?

‘No.’

Lately, whenever Lion caused trouble, he came to me afterward and aired his grievances. Hadn’t he?
Then the conclusion was obvious.

‘They’re all deceiving me.’

Not just Father and Lion, but Elvia as well.
Judging by how they looked at me, their reason was clear enough—they hoped I wouldn’t be shocked.
Something serious had happened to Lion’s body. I was certain of it.

‘Is he hiding it again, like with the Ester incident?’

Ricshel’s hands clenched into fists beneath the table.
This family had always treated him as though he were a child barely learning to walk.

“…….”

Ricshel stared at Lion.
More precisely, he had been gazing at his gloves before lifting his eyes.

“It’s truly reassuring to share a meal like this, Brother.”
“Ha, is that so? Then shall we eat lunch and snacks together too?”

The reason he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at his brother just now was surely because of the kindness he showed—catering to his mood even while carrying secrets that needed to stay hidden.

“Are you certain it’s no trouble? I wouldn’t want to steal away your precious time…….”
“Steal away? I was planning to rest properly for a few days anyway.”
“You haven’t been overexerting yourself, have you?”
“Overexert? When have you ever seen me push myself too hard?”
“…….”
“…….”

The conversation lapsed into awkward silence.
Lion rose to his feet, dabbing his lips absently with a handkerchief.

“Well, I’ll rest a bit and come back at lunchtime. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“I’d like to try the snack you’ve been enjoying recently.”
“Oh, I actually made something with apricot. If there are ingredients in the Kitchen, I’ll prepare it for you.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll go check as well.”
“All right. Just don’t tire yourself out.”

Ricshel offered a slight smile and turned to leave.
The second time this moment.

‘No ingredients?’

His brother had a habit of hoarding materials the way a squirrel gathers acorns.
He would regularly pull out not only every herb and plant from the Mimur Forest, but also those that grew only in the Labyrinth, drawing them straight from his bag.
Yet he had brought no ingredients whatsoever from the Villa where Elvia was staying?

‘Him, of all people?’

One of two possibilities.
Either he had been in such dire circumstances that he couldn’t gather materials.

‘……Or he never went there at all.’

The smile he had worn moments ago turned cold, replaced by a thin, mirthless smirk.
Ricshel stepped into his room, activated the Crystal Orb, and attempted to contact the head of the household.
But…….

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The Crystal Orb shut down with a notification tone indicating the recipient was unavailable.
The head of the household was not taking his call.
It was a stark departure from his usual habit of always answering calls, no matter what.

“So they’re making their move like this, are they.”

There was something the others were getting slightly wrong.
Ricshel Asteri.
To Patrick and Lion, he was nothing more than the family’s youngest—a bit ‘sensitive’, perhaps, and gentle—but…….
The way the world saw him was quite different.
The successor to House Asteri, even more meticulous than Patrick Asteri himself.
A strategist whose cunning matched his magical talents.
A possessor of cold reason more befitting the House Asteri than anyone else.

“……Ha.”

And finally…….

* * *

“I have this obsessive habit—anything that bothers me must be removed.”

For the record, those words came from the Second Imperial Prince, the one who’d coordinated politically with him most often.

“So that’s why you two get along?”
“Hmm.”

Kyle pretended not to hear Jack’s comment and savored his tea instead.
So he’d gone to the Great Barrier and made quite a mess of things, it seemed.
The way Patrick Asteri was keeping information locked down so thoroughly made that much clear.
Kyle set down his teacup and regarded Jack.
Now that he’d entered the Imperial Palace as a merchant lord called ‘Jade,’ his attire was nothing short of garish.

“Looks like you know something.”
“Know what?”
“Lion Asteri’s current condition.”
“Ha. How would I know? I’ve never even met him.”

Jack waved his hand dismissively, playing the fool.

“Then why did you arrive in the Imperial Capital earlier than scheduled?”
“Because I hadn’t seen the Second Imperial Prince in ages.”

Kyle disregarded the flimsy answer cleanly.
He’d had quite frequent contact with Jack recently.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been prudent to maintain distance—but…….
If he was being honest, it was partly because of Lion Asteri’s influence.
So they’d taken meals together like ordinary brothers, and shared information in the process.
Of course, when Jack rambled on, Kyle would simply ignore him or parry his remarks appropriately.

“What does Patrick Asteri say?”
“Well, even the Second Imperial Prince can’t get me to speak about a client—seems like you’re worrying quite a bit?”

Jack had answered half-seriously, something like ‘You might get jealous if I cared about him more than you do?’ and settled deep into the sofa.

“Well…….”

Jack murmured, gazing up at the ornate ceiling of the Imperial Palace.

“It’s no trivial matter, but we’re working it toward a direction where it can look ordinary. You just need to know that much.”
“I see.”
“Hmm?”

Jack’s head turned toward Kyle, surprised at how plainly he’d answered.

“What? Thought you’d make a fuss about it?”
“You must have cared for that young master quite a bit.”
“You’re not wrong. But I don’t treat him like a flower petal resting in my palm.”
“Oh.”

Living in the Imperial Capital seemed to have refined his speech considerably.
Well, it was certainly better for his younger brother to live with some dignity than to wallow in filth, so it wasn’t a bad development.
Jack tucked that thought away beneath a brief exclamation and listened attentively to what Kyle had to say.

“He’s not the type to die so easily.”
“Is it because of what happened in the Cave?”
“Yes.”

Jack exhaled lightly.
Kyle had no idea how much his own insides had burned during those days.
And yet he kept bringing up that story, out of nowhere.
Or perhaps…….

‘It was, in his own way, a pleasant journey.’

Kyle walked only the paths he intended to walk.
Because of his cursed body, he had to extract maximum results from minimal movement.
But that day.
When he’d disappeared with Lion.
More precisely, after he returned, Kyle had taken to recounting that story often.
As though it were some grand adventure tale.
In his characteristic calm manner—yet his eyes, usually as lifeless as a corpse’s, would occasionally glimmer as he spoke.

‘Tsk. I can’t help what irritates me.’

Still, what could he do? An older brother had to yield to his younger brother.

‘Before he becomes emperor, I should take him somewhere.’

Once he became emperor, it would probably be difficult.
That boy wouldn’t prefer idling about and eating like the current emperor.
Thinking such thoughts, Jack rose from his seat.

“Then, Your Highness. I shall take my leave and attend to business.”
“Already?”
“Yes. If I’m to spoil my younger brother later, I must work hard to earn.”

Jack curled his index and thumb into a circle, forming the shape of a coin, and chuckled.

“Besides, it’s about time a client’s complaint comes through.”

By now, Ricshel Asteri must surely have noticed something amiss.
Since Patrick Asteri wasn’t answering, the inquiry would eventually come this way.
And given that Kyle had just called him “meticulous,” he would do whatever it took to obtain a clue.

‘Normally I should feign ignorance…….’

Well, as long as it didn’t violate the contract, there was no harm in saying something, was there?
It absolutely wasn’t because Kyle had talked about Lion Asteri more than he had that he felt spiteful.
Ha, ha, ha.

“Then.”

Jack left the prince’s chamber and naturally made his way toward the Imperial Palace’s guest quarters.
And as expected…….

A violet light was emanating from the Crystal Orb.

“Hmm.”

Jack readily accepted the call.
And then he leaked out a small amount of information.
Ah, of course! Nothing whatsoever about Lion Asteri.

* * *

And so it came to pass.

“Ah…”

Lion found himself facing Ricshel’s expression—the look of someone who had pieced everything together in mere two days.

‘Steady. Steady now. This much, at least, I foresaw.’

Lion offered a rueful smile and raised both hands.

“First, why don’t we all take a breath?”
“I am perfectly composed.”

Right. Holding a Staff while saying that hardly inspires confidence.

‘How much has Ricshel actually figured out?’

He’d certainly noticed something odd about my clothes yesterday evening and this morning.
There was a high probability he reached out to Grandfather, and received no answer.

‘Did he contact Elvia directly?’

Unlikely—he’d have been cautious on Licht’s account, if nothing else.
Lion ran through the possibilities and pinned down his culprit.

‘It was Kyle.’

Bypassing the Second Imperial Prince entirely, contacting Kyle directly.
But Grandfather would have already moved first—forestalling him—so Ricshel wouldn’t have grasped the fundamentals.

‘Which means…’

I’ll have to give him something.

“First… I wasn’t trying to deceive you. I’ve been unwell. Something happened at the Great Barrier.”
“I see.”
“But I haven’t fully recovered yet.”
“You… haven’t fully recovered?”

To be precise, my internal injuries had healed completely.
But the Contamination remained—so not fully recovered.
Hoffmann himself said he wasn’t entirely well either, so it wasn’t a lie.

“So I didn’t want to stay at the Magic Tower any longer. I said I’d come back.”

-You’re really good at lying, aren’t you.
-Are you a con artist?

Be quiet.

“…”

Ricshel labored to discern truth from falsehood in Lion’s words.
But he could not.
Of course he couldn’t.
Because truth and lies were woven together too cunningly.

‘I’m truly sorry, brother.’

But listen. This isn’t something we can solve right now anyway, so I can’t just burden you with the worry of it.
And Grandfather seems to have some plan in mind.
He told me to be patient for a little while.

“I’m sorry, Lion, but I can’t accept that.”

Of course I’d anticipated an answer like that.
So Lion played his trump card.

“Then should we go ask Hoffmann together?”

He’d thought this would be enough to convince Ricshel.
But then.

“Very well. Let’s do that.”
“W-well.”

—This younger brother wasn’t going to be easy.

And so, just two days later, Lion found himself heading back to the Magic Tower.
This time with Ricshel in tow.

“…”

Hoffmann, who’d just inherited this time bomb, found himself in a situation he’d never encountered before, his brow furrowing in an odd twist of consternation.

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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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