Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 53

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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 is Unknown, But I Intend to Heal — Episode 53

The servant had tidied away neat bedding and books stacked haphazardly in places throughout the room.
Moonlight streaming through the open window and a gentle night breeze drifting in.
To a stranger, it would have seemed an ordinary room, unchanged from any other evening—but.

“Elvia. Did someone come into my room?”
“They did, sir.”

Someone had broken in.
The servants always kept Lion’s windows locked tight at night.
The young master was delicate; they couldn’t risk him catching cold.
Yet today, that window stood wide open.
As if to announce that someone had come and gone.

‘It hardly seems like a robbery.’

Had the intruder harbored ill intent, Elvia would have ended the matter—either the thief’s life or their limbs, one or the other.
Yet Elvia had permitted the intrusion.
Which meant the visitor posed no threat.

“Is it someone I know?”
“No, sir.”

Not someone he knew—then why? As he puzzled over it, Elvia added her explanation.

“They appeared to be a courier, so I allowed them to pass.”
“A courier?”

Elvia gestured naturally toward the table.
There, as a gift—

“This arrived?”

An array of luxurious Premium Potion Bottles spread across the surface.
The bottles, lined up with precise spacing, were thin yet durable, adorned with exquisitely refined craftsmanship.

[Premium Potion Bottle (★★★)]
-Where on earth was this glasswork master hiding? Perhaps locked away in a cellar, forced to labor endlessly. The skill is truly extraordinary.
-The duration and effectiveness of potions are increased by fifteen percent.
-Even if dropped from a moderate height, they will not shatter.

In any case, the bottles were impressive both to behold and to use.

“Hmm.”

Yet the reason for Lion’s hesitation was—
Every bottle was filled with liquid of a different color.
Arranged, moreover, in an almost obsessive gradient from warm to cool tones.

‘This doesn’t seem like the work of an ordinary person.’

[Underworld Health Recovery Potion (★)]
-The work of an alchemist with great potential. Upon consumption, it restores a minimal amount of health.

[Underworld Mana Recovery Potion]
-The work of an alchemist with great potential, though now aware of their manufacturing limits. It aids only in mana recovery.
-This method will never permit them to reach the rank of Master Craftsman in their lifetime.
-The formula itself is flawed, at that.

A basic potion.
Yet its effects were woefully inadequate for something bearing a star.

‘No, wait. When I think about it…….’

Lion recalled a potion shop he’d visited once when he went to the Village.
The potions’ efficacy had been far less impressive than he’d expected.
Which meant the potions Lion created were abnormally superior.

‘It was the same at the Magic Tower.’

The recipes and side effects were distinctly different.
Comparing them roughly, this alchemist’s skill certainly ranked quite high.
Among the techniques an ordinary alchemist could execute, this might well be the highest level.
And the alchemist had sent more than just potions.

-Counterfeit Gold
-Counterfeit Copper
-Counterfeit Silver

All manner of Imperial currency and jewels, subtly different in appearance.
Unmistakably crafted through Alchemy.
To work with both potions and Alchemy at this level? That certainly spoke to mastery.

“Hm? This one’s real, isn’t it?”

[Noblewoman’s Lost Necklace]
-A certain noblewoman is desperately seeking this necklace.

Lion set the necklace aside on its own.
In any case…….

‘It’s certainly a safe gift, that much is true.’

Risky origin notwithstanding.
When Lion glanced sideways at Elvia, she was laughing, her hand covering her mouth in amusement.
She was enjoying this. Right now.

“Ahem. Did you enjoy your meal with the family, sir?”
“You’re not jealous right now, are you?”

It was Elvia who had declined the invitation, saying she needed to focus on her role.

“A misunderstanding, sir. And aren’t you quite pleased yourself?”
“……well.”

One might call it the feeling of meeting a colleague with the same interests.
Alchemists themselves were uncommon, but they typically belonged to the Magic Tower.
And if someone were sending items like these…….

“Elvia.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was there a letter?”
“Indeed. Here it is, sir.”

Elvia handed over an elegant black envelope.

…….

As expected.
Lion let out a hollow laugh, taking in the black envelope and crimson seal.
Charred paper black, the letterhead. Blood-red the sealing wax.
There was no doubt—this was a gift from the Underworld.

“Young Master, if it troubles you, I can make it as though nothing happened at all.”

The Magic Tower infiltration mission must have been rather enjoyable, judging by her tone.
Lion deliberately ignored Elvia’s words and broke the seal.
At minimum, reading the letter would give him some clue as to their intent in sending him a gift.
And……

“Hm?”

Lion tilted his head.

—Congratulations on coming of age, Lion of House Asteri. The enclosed items are a humble token of celebration. I sincerely hope you will not refuse.
—Post-script: You seem quite versed in Alchemy. Would you kindly offer your assessment of the items I have crafted?
—Post-post-script: Two days hence, I shall retrieve the empty bottles. I do humbly ask for your cooperation.

……

What is this?
Lion had naturally assumed the Underworld operatives were concealing some sinister motive beneath their gift. That was his firm expectation.
Yet to be so brazenly transparent about it?

‘Should I call it pure, then?’

Whether one swung to white or black, extremity in any direction was its own form of purity.
This time, purely dark.

“Are you testing me right now?”
“They might genuinely be curious. True insight, you see, often drives one to seek answers even from enemies when one hits an impasse. It’s simply how that lot operates.”
……

But doesn’t true insight require one to realize it oneself?

“What will you do?”

Lion pondered for a moment, then scribbled something on the paper, affixed it to both the potion bottles and the counterfeits, and moved everything out to the table on the terrace.

“Done.”

He even slammed the window shut with a decisive bang.
Not a single item remained on Lion’s desk.
Except for the Noblewoman’s Lost Necklace.

“You’re rejecting everything else, then?”
“The sender will judge that for themselves.”

Lion dusted off his hands and made for his bed.
His manner was unusually firm.

‘I misjudged, it seems.’

Elvia realized her miscalculation watching Lion’s resolve.
He was so gentle, so ready to honor every request from his family and those around him, that she’d thought he didn’t know how to refuse—and had meant to teach him in this instance.
It had been her mistake.

‘But what are those numbers he wrote on the paper?’

Rather than voice her curiosity, Elvia slipped quietly into the darkness, unwilling to disturb Lion’s rest.

* * *

“……Ha!”

She was left speechless at the sight of the items before her.
The gift she had sent to Lion Asteri had come back intact.
Well, not entirely intact.
He had picked out only the genuine articles and sent back the counterfeits!

‘Of course, I mixed them in deliberately to test his discernment.’

Yet the precision with which he had singled out only the authentic pieces was deeply galling.

‘Did he read my letter properly or not?’

There was no way to know.
But the fact that the goods had been returned with their packaging intact surely meant a refusal.
Freyanya’s brows drew upward in a sharp angle.

“How dare he…… refuse my request?”

Her attendants immediately grew wary, sensing her displeasure.

‘Curse it! Mistress Freyanya seems angry!’
‘But we can’t just dispose of it on our own, can we?’

As they exchanged nervous glances among themselves—

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Fortunately, before she could vent her anger on them, a slip of paper attached to one of the potion bottles caught her eye.
Freyanya promptly picked up the bottle and began examining them carefully, one by one.

“10…… this one’s 7, and this one’s 8…… Could it be?”

She shoved the potion bottles aside and rummaged deeper into the packaging.
She looked nearly engulfed within the enormous box, but none of her attendants dared laugh at the sight.
Instead, all their attention fixed on the bottles with a sense of relief.

“Shall we, perhaps, step outside?”
“Do as you wish.”

She had even grown remarkably generous!

‘W-we’re saved!’

The attendants quietly backed away, careful not to offend Freyanya’s mood.

“Found it!”

From within the massive packaging, she withdrew a hastily scrawled note.
It was Lion’s reply.

-Scored on a scale of 100.
-This evaluation is delivered in earnest.

“…….”

Freyanya stared at the potion bottles scattered across the floor.
And there…….
Not a single one scored above ten points!

“This… this loss!”

The paper in her hand crumpled violently.
The scores were nothing short of devastating.
Out of a hundred points, she’d earned only single digits?
It made no sense.
She was hailed as a genius throughout the Underworld.
No — across the entire Empire, she counted among the most skilled alchemists.
That was why she held authority over the Underworld’s currency, overseeing its circulation!
So what was this?

“The audacity! How dare— Hmph!”

When Freyanya’s fury erupted, her subordinates who had been edging away scrambled to flee the room entirely.
After some time spent in this rage—

“Haaah……”

Freyanya barely managed to regain her composure.

“What’s the real problem here? Isn’t this standard acceptable work?”

After denial and anger came a wave of compromise.
Should she simply ignore this?
What if Lion Asteri had sent this to mock her, as a joke?
No matter how she thought about it, there existed no alchemist in the Empire capable of matching her skill.
So wasn’t it fine to settle for where she stood now?

……

By Lion Asteri’s standards, these might be seven-point potions, but in the world’s eyes, they approach a hundred points.
Was that not enough?
They were groundbreaking — people couldn’t even distinguish them from genuine specimens.
So wasn’t that sufficient?
Couldn’t she simply ignore this hunger within herself and continue living?

“……Damn it!”

If that had been possible, she would never have pierced through House Asteri’s strict guard to send that letter!
He had said it was a sincere evaluation, hadn’t he?
To him, the things she had poured her heart into creating were, in truth, nothing more than items worthy of that grade.
Freyanya slapped both her cheeks sharply with her palms.
The stinging heat jolted her mind awake.

“Let’s try again.”

If she thought of it positively, she had ninety more points of distance to traverse forward!

Snap!

At the snap of her fingers, a small lizard formed entirely of flame appeared near Freyanya.

“Salamander! Heat the cauldron for me!”

Whoosh!

At those words, fierce flames erupted from the lizard’s back and mouth, and the alchemical solution in the cauldron began to boil with renewed intensity.
Freyanya’s lips twisted upward in a snarl.

“Lion Asteri! I’ll drain every ounce of your skill and discard you without mercy!”

* * *

Several weeks passed in that manner.
During that time, Freyanya crafted potions repeatedly, sending them secretly as gifts to House Asteri, only to receive them back.
And the scores were…….

-12 points.
-9 points.
-11 points.

Still in the low tens.
Slightly higher than before, but still barely scraping past ten—a pitiful level.

“What on earth is the reason?”

She could not fathom it.
By her own standards, she had achieved genuine insight and made tremendous strides in progress.
Yet the scores remained mired in the low tens.
So she changed the formula entirely that composed the potion.
It was humbling, and her pride stung—but she did it.
She analyzed Lion Asteri’s beverage to its limits, reinterpreted it, applied new principles, and grafted them onto the formula.
The potion’s efficacy improved considerably.
And yet…….

-Minus 10 points.

P.S. Do not copy.

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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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