The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 176

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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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Side Story Chapter 7
Side Story 3. Duke Roheim Wishes to Retire
Suddenly, Duke Roheim found himself reflecting.
‘How much money have I donated to the Temple so far?’
At minimum, it would be several hundred billion gold, and he might well have given close to a trillion gold by now.
From the moment he came of age and began seriously engaging in business, right up to the present day—maintaining his Duchy title for nearly forty years—he had never once skipped a year of donations.
Of course, those donations had not been made purely out of goodwill, without calculation or conditions.
Especially after receiving a Divine Prophecy that his third child, Cecilia, would become Empress and being born with that knowledge, he had poured vast sums of gold into the Temple with a single selfish purpose: that the child be well cared for.
Those staggering donations had continued even after Cecilia became Empress, bore a child, and was finally freed from the destiny God had ordained for her.
This too had not been pure goodwill. It had been a donation filled with self-interest.
So this time, please, just once…….
‘God, I beseech you. When this fourth grandchild is born, please—just this once—grant him the Divine Prophecy that he shall become Duke Roheim!’
Kneeling before the towering statue of God in the Grand Chapel, Duke Roheim offered a prayer from the depths of his heart.
If all the gold coins he had donated were stacked in a line, their summit would surely touch the heavens, and yet the divine statue remained utterly silent, as if God had no intention of heeding the Duke’s prayer.
In truth, this was not strange. What had been strange was the faint glimmer that appeared on Cecilia and Lionel’s wedding day.
“Ahem, Duke Roheim. Have you finished your prayer?”
“Wait a moment. Just one more thing.”
Duke Roheim looked up at the towering statue and offered one more heartfelt prayer.
‘Please let our daughter give birth safely once more.’
In that instant, a shimmer of light seeped into the corners of the statue’s mouth. But it lasted only a moment, and Duke Roheim did not see it. The other priest assumed it was merely sunlight reflecting through the window.
“Your prayer has surely reached God, Duke.”
“I can only hope so.”
Though he spoke thus, Duke Roheim harbored little expectation in truth.
He had offered hundreds of prayers before, and he had heard dozens of times that his words had reached God.
‘Still, I’m grateful that at least the truly important prayers have been answered.’
Duke Roheim’s prayers always began with a plea for the good health of his entire family. Health, after all, was something that money could not buy.
Fortunately, the Duke himself and his Duchess had never suffered from serious illness, though they had the occasional minor ailment. The same was true of his eldest son and eldest daughter, Cecilia and her husband, and his three grandchildren.
Though his eldest daughter and son, now in their thirties, showed no interest in marriage and contentedly enjoyed their solitary lives……and though the prospect of handing over the Duchy title to one of his precious grandchildren and retiring still seemed distant…….
Well, they were all healthy, at least. That was something.
‘I must keep my own health in good order too.’
To one day hand over his Duchy title to a grown grandchild and retire to enjoy a second honeymoon with his wife, his body above all else needed to remain robust.
Having come to the Temple, Duke Roheim received Holy Power Healing for his aching lower back and purchased a large supply of Holy Fruit to nourish his body. Then he set out directly for the Imperial Palace.
Duke Roheim’s access to the Imperial Palace had always been free, but ever since Cecilia became Empress, his visits had grown so frequent that his carriage passed through the Imperial Palace’s drawbridge without any obstruction whatsoever.
“Duke, where shall we go?”
“Hmm…… Let’s head to the Second Princess’s Palace.”
The Second Princess Diana, who had turned five this year, and the First Prince Danius had recently celebrated their birthdays and been given their own palaces—the Second Princess’s Palace and the First Prince’s Palace respectively—where they had become independent.
That said, the two children spent their days playing only in their own palaces, and after the evening meal together, they gathered in the Empress’s Palace or the First Princess’s Palace to sleep. So it was still somewhat ambiguous to call them truly independent.
“Duke, we have arrived at the Second Princess’s Palace, but…….”
“Hmm?”
Whinny! Whinny!
“Whoa, there’s nothing to fear, stable hands. This isn’t the first or second time…….”
From the sound of the frightened horse’s cry outside, Duke Roheim quickly grasped the situation. Rather than wait for the maid of the Second Princess’s Palace to come greet him, he opened the door himself and stepped out.
“Krieg!”
“Long time no see, General Krieg. Have you been well?”
“Krieg.”
There had been times when the great wolf, unable to adjust to that name, had let out dissatisfied cries, but now it wagged its tail affectionately toward a familiar face.
Delighted by this change, Duke Roheim broke into a cheerful laugh and stroked the beast’s head.
“But the fact that you’re here means…….”
“Grandfather!”
From behind the massive wolf’s back, a round little head suddenly popped up.
Hair gleaming like sunlight gold and eyes clear as the open sky—this spirited girl, bearing the looks of Cecilia and Lionel blended together, was Diana, the current Empire’s Second Princess.
“My goodness, Your Highness. Playing with Krieg today as well, are you?”
“Not playing—training! Right, General Krieg?”
Krieg……
Though Krieg was undoubtedly not a person but a wolf, the young child sitting upon its back let out a sigh of such profound exhaustion and annoyance that even the great beast could not escape it.
It seemed that even a wolf of such colossal size could not outlast a child’s stamina.
‘The pony I brought as a gift…… I should just slip it into the grounds and make my exit.’
Duke Roheim gave a subtle nod to his coachman, then cleared his throat lightly and addressed Diana.
“So, Your Highness, have you given any thought to my earlier proposal?”
“Proposal? ……Ah! Going to visit the Roheim Duchy?”
“Yes, yes. That very one. The Roheim Duchy has a great many amusements that would surely delight Your Highness. For instance…….”
Duke Roheim proceeded to enlarge upon the vastness of the Roheim Duchy’s plains and the grandeur and depth of its rivers—speaking with such exaggerated enthusiasm as to captivate a young child.
“We have even prepared a fine boat just for Your Highness. What say you? Would you not like to come play with us?”
“Hmm……! But Grandfather, I do want to see the house where you and Mother used to live…….”
“But?”
Diana giggled and spoke.
“If we go there, then for a while we won’t see Mother and Father, and we won’t see Sister and Danius either.”
“C-couldn’t we all go together?”
“They can’t all go. Mother has a baby in her belly, so Mother and Father can’t leave the Imperial Palace, and Sister has so much to learn that she can’t go far away!”
“I see…….”
Duke Roheim’s face fell. The reason offered by his five-year-old granddaughter was so reasonable and compelling that there was nothing for it but to grow even more dejected.
‘Blast it—my plan to trick the second grandchild into accepting the Duchy title……!’
“Found you! There you are!”
“Second Princess! Today we will not let you escape!”
“Oh! The seeker is coming! Grandfather, see you later then! Goodbye!”
“Yes, hurry and go before you’re caught!”
“Let’s go, General Krieg!”
Diana tapped the wolf’s neck and pointed ahead, urging it forward with all her might. Though Krieg sighed, it obeyed the child’s command and began to run.
After Diana rode away on Krieg, a group of sturdy Imperial Guards arrived before Duke Roheim, breathing heavily.
“It has been a long time, Duke…….”
“You lads have it rough. Playing tag again today?”
“Yes……. Huff, we’d rather be on a forced march.”
“Well, chasing a great wolf is no easy feat. You have my sympathies.”
“Yes, huff, puff.”
“Your Highness! Please go a bit more slowly!”
At only five years old, Diana handled the great wolf—whom even adults feared—as effortlessly as one might handle a foal. Her prowess was truly remarkable.
But when one considered the Divine Prophecy that had been given to Diana, there was nothing particularly strange about it.
[She shall, together with one not human, conquer the Barren Land]
That child would surely become a great general in the distant days to come.

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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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