Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 136
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 136
Lion understood the situation perfectly.
The Asteri family’s workload was so immense that an ordinary person could never manage it.
Not just internal family matters—every affair of the empire, great and small, passed through Asteri hands. So even the time for a restful night’s sleep was scarce.
And in the midst of that, his brother had been dragged this way and that against his will until he became a workaholic, and now he had reached a state where he couldn’t even rest properly on his own.
‘And I told him he could just relax and take it easy.’
He felt sorry for him, but at the same time he understood better than anyone.
What makes workaholism so terrifying?
Even on your day off, you can’t actually rest—you’re seized by this strange anxiety that you ought to be working.
The idea that work ever ends grows blurry, and you start thinking that spending this moment on unfinished work is more efficient than taking a break.
‘Guh, I know that one well.’
He knew it all too well!
Hadn’t Lion once been enthusiastically put through the wringer at a company?
What was truly frightening?
Looking back, he wondered how on earth he had endured it, but at the time it had actually felt like, “Huh, this is more manageable than I thought.”
When your body keeps overheating, your judgment gets clouded.
That was exactly why he’d been looking after Rickshel’s and Grandfather’s rest more carefully…
It seemed the recovery still hadn’t progressed enough for him to rest by himself.
‘Still, I’m glad he at least gave me a sign like this. Though, really—how hard must it have been for him alone.’
At an age when he should have been playing to his heart’s content, he had to shoulder the family’s work and his own personal development.
And lately, he’d even ended up handling temple matters, taking on extra work completely against his will.
Of course he’d be exhausted.
“Alright. Then let’s go together.”
“Really?”
Rickshel couldn’t hide a smile at Lion’s words.
‘As planned.’
He had thought that if he phrased it this way, his older brother would accept.
Because his older brother always prioritized others over himself.
“Then I’ll prepare as soon as we return.”
Now that he even had his brother’s permission, all he had to do was prepare well, according to plan.
“Sure. Sure.”
Fortunately, Lion didn’t know Rickshel’s true feelings and simply nodded.
‘Maybe I’ll just stick to the house like glue until the date’s set.’
He’d spent only a few days at the temple, but coming home felt unbelievably good.
It wasn’t that he had a personality that preferred staying home above all else—the environment here was just too pleasant.
And also…
‘I need to check up on the little one I brought back from the temple.’
The demonic beast egg.
He had carefully wrapped it and brought it back to keep it from being stained further by divine power, but there hadn’t been any particular reaction since then.
Nature was standing guard right next to it, so it didn’t seem like anything was wrong.
There was one peculiar thing, though.
The divine power wasn’t draining out of the egg.
Leaving it like that probably wouldn’t do it any good, so he’d have to think of a way to deal with it.
Since he was out with Rickshel anyway, he planned to stop by the magic tool shop first.
There might be a solution somewh—
“Ah, and we likely won’t be able to visit that magic tool shop for a while.”
“Eh… huh? Why?”
“The owner said he won’t be opening for some time due to various circumstances. The circlet he provided at the temple was his last item.”
“Oh dear…”
The thought had barely crossed his mind before it was dashed.
But Lion wasn’t greatly disappointed.
He knew of an even more certain shop, after all.
‘I’ll have to look through the Shilling Shop.’
The stock might have increased while he hadn’t looked, and window-shopping might spark a good idea, so he ought to check it out.
* * *
After a hearty meal and a delicious dessert, Lion arrived at the mansion patting his full stomach.
“I’ll organize the detailed schedule and deliver it to you personally later. I have some things to take care of separately right now; it’ll probably take about a week.”
Rickshel saw Lion to his door and then headed off again to do something else.
It was probably related to his remaining work and that ‘hotel’ matter.
“Take it easy.”
No matter how soon his vacation was coming up, pushing his body into overwork wasn’t a good choice.
Lion watched Rickshel’s receding figure and let out a soft sigh.
“You needn’t worry too much.”
At that moment, Elvia slipped out of the darkness to comfort him.
“Because if this matter is resolved well, Young Master Rickshel will be able to rest deeply for a long while.”
“Is the hotel that big a deal?”
At Lion’s question, Elvia pondered briefly, resting a finger on her chin, then answered.
“The hotel, too, can be said to be connected to the great undertaking.”
“…Great undertaking?”
The term ‘great undertaking’ was usually political, wasn’t it?
Lion’s mind began racing wildly on its own.
“The Second Prince?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
As expected, it was something related to the imperial prince.
…But how was a hotel connected to the Second Prince?
Was he trying to raise funds through the hotel?
No, it felt too late for that at this point.
Especially if he was deliberately starting something now, when the Crown Prince’s coronation was approaching.
In that case, this was likely…
‘It looks like someone from behind the scenes is planning to appear in the guise of a guild leader.’
In other words, once this hotel venture succeeded, a trading guild would naturally be needed to exclusively handle its supplies and distribution.
And if someone were to appear at this stage, Lion suspected it could only be the Criminal Underworld.
Come to think of it, his brother seemed to have ties with the Criminal Underworld too.
‘Hmm… aish, let’s not think about this any further.’
Lion shook his head.
If he pretended to know about it, he’d only draw unwanted attention.
The ambush they’d suffered while heading to the Bydantis territory had provided more than enough attention already.
‘Still… the Crown Prince’s coronation, huh.’
Rumors about the First Prince were rampant, but surprisingly, very little information circulated about the Second Prince.
About the only thing people knew was that he was considerably frail.
Lion considered that to be a false rumor.
Think about it: the Second Prince had climbed alone from absolute rock bottom all the way to the position of imperial prince.
Could a sickly body truly have made that possible?
If that were the case, would Rickshel have supported the Second Prince?
He didn’t think so.
‘Well, it’s not my business anyway!’
After all, Lion wasn’t the heir.
There would probably be almost no occasion to meet him in the future anyway, and even if they did meet, they weren’t in a relationship where they needed to pay each other any mind.
He hadn’t the slightest desire to stir things up and cause unnecessary trouble.
Haven’t things gotten complicated enough just with the ‘main character’ problem?
‘Let’s not get entangled. Absolutely.’
Getting tangled in politics for no reason could end in blood.
Even looking back at his life before the possession, hadn’t he seen plenty of cases where office politics swept people away and cut their lifelines?
“…”
Elvia quietly observed the puppy who seemed lost in thought.
‘So the memory of that time really left a bad impression.’
She was referring to the ambush on the way to the Bydantis family.
Elvia sighed deeply to herself.
‘Should I have eliminated all of them?’
Lion had lived his life only within the confines of the Asteri mansion.
He had wrestled with the mana shocks that tormented him, but he had never once encountered such blatant malice and open hostility from the outside world.
How great must the shock have been?
‘If only he could have grown up seeing only good things forever…’
Elvia knew well.
No matter how much you tried to show someone only good things, eventually they would have to face the dark side.
So all she could do was help their puppy steel his resolve.
Rickshel was probably thinking the same, and that was why he was taking Lion to the hotel.
It was the right choice.
Worried that Lion’s mind might change, Elvia cautiously spoke.
“Even so, I expect Young Master Rickshel will be pleased.”
“Hmm?”
“Lately he has often looked so tired. Though it is a hotel you are going to for work, I hope he can rest comfortably there, even a little. You are the only one who can help Young Master Rickshel rest at ease, after all.”
“That’s true. Rickshel always pushes himself too hard.”
If it was enough to worry Elvia, just how overworked must he have been?
‘… Wait. Now that I think about it, I’m getting angry.’
Seriously, why did Rickshel have to be so busy when the imperial princes were the ones competing with each other?
Weren’t they supposed to handle their own affairs?
Why was that kid being ground down over it?
‘When we get to the hotel, I won’t let him so much as lay a finger on work.’
Lion made a solemn vow deep in his heart.
He absolutely would make him do nothing but eat, sleep, and rest.
“Don’t worry. Once we’re at the hotel, I’ll stick right by him and keep a close watch.”
“Heh-heh. Yes. I leave it in your hands.”
Without the faintest clue what the other was truly thinking, the two of them had joined forces one way or another.
…Well, wasn’t that a good outcome?
“But…”
Clenching his two fists, Lion suddenly realized one peculiar thing.
Now that he thought about it, Elvia had been speaking from outside without entering his room.
‘And come to think of it, she’s barely come into the room lately.’
Even when she did enter, she took the minimal possible path, finished what she had to do, and fled as if making an escape.
‘Ah, don’t tell me.’
Was it because of that egg?
The likelihood was high.
Didn’t Elvia quite intensely dislike divine power?
She’d even disposed of the garments that had come into contact with it.
‘What if it’s not just dislike, but a constitutional incompatibility?’
Like a vampire’s skin melting in the sun…
Lion hurriedly asked.
“Is it because of the egg? Is that why you aren’t coming in?”
“That is correct.”
“Don’t tell me—does touching divine power make your skin sting, or…?”
“Ha-ha. That’s not at all the case. That small amount of divine power does not cause me pain.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Lion breathed a sigh of relief internally.
If she’d actually been suffering some kind of internal injury, he’d have no face to look her in the eye, would he?
“However, as it is a sacred beast’s egg, it seemed my presence nearby would not exert a good influence.”
“Huh?”
Lion cocked his head for a moment.
A sacred beast’s egg?
‘Ah.’
Now he understood properly.
The reason Elvia hadn’t been entering Lion’s room much lately.
‘She was misunderstanding.’
Because so much divine power was clinging to it, she’d thought the egg belonged to a sacred beast.
On top of that, the point when he’d brought the egg back was from the temple.
It was a perfectly understandable misunderstanding.
‘But if I tell her it’s a demonic beast egg…’
Hmm, explaining how he knew that was extremely difficult.
And even if he explained, it would blow the matter up far too much.
Then there was only one option.
Elvia realizing the egg’s true nature on her own.
No, at the very least, she just needed to realize it was not a sacred beast’s egg.
The moment Lion finished thinking, he spoke.
“Actually, about that. Could you take a proper look at this egg for me?”
“I would like to help you, but if I approach, there is a high chance the sacred beast’s egg could be contaminated.”
“Well, the thing is…”
Lion deliberately trailed off, glancing at the egg, then whispered in a very small voice.
“I’m fairly sure it isn’t a sacred beast’s egg.”
“…Pardon?”
Elvia’s perpetually calm eyes wavered for an instant, and she fixed her gaze on the egg nestled warmly at one side of the bed.
…Then what on earth was that egg?
‘Don’t tell me.’