Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 161
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 161
Lion deliberately regarded the Second Prince with even more composure.
Acting all flustered and going “Oh dear, my apologies!” just to soothe the mood here would be an amateur move.
“You seem to be under a misconception. I didn’t tell any lies.”
“…”
If anything, he leaned into it more brazenly.
The Second Prince surely already knew that the earlier conversation had contained no lies, anyway.
And indeed, Lion hadn’t spoken a single word of falsehood.
He had only staged a situation that invited a momentary misunderstanding.
And, most likely…
‘That guy had already figured out the situation the moment he walked out the door.’
Hadn’t he said he would return?
‘Even if he did feel deceived, if he got angry he could just not come back, and that would’ve been that.’
Yet the fact that he made a point of coming back and pressing him for having “lied” meant the man had more than a passing interest in him.
He probably had him on a shortlist as someone suspected of being “Lion Asteri.”
…The problem was that the sort of interest on that list was a far cry from what ordinary people meant by it.
Lion gazed calmly at the Second Prince.
The pressure emanating from him was fairly staggering.
It was nothing like his grandfather’s aura.
If he had to classify it…
‘It’s closer to a wild animal than a person.’
Sometimes, didn’t creatures in the wild turn vicious when they were wounded?
They puffed up their bodies, and they barked or lunged more ferociously to steel themselves against any potential threat.
And the pressure from this man was exactly that.
A dangerous sensation, as if he could bite Lion’s throat open at any moment.
Seeing as the man had lived such an angular, abrasive life, it wasn’t impossible to understand.
And yet, unable to overcome his curiosity, he had walked back here of his own accord.
Which meant…
‘I’d better make him even more curious.’
He had to become an object of curiosity, not a friendly presence.
“Well, I won’t be prying into your affairs either, so how about we just share a drink for today? The liquor here at the Easter does happen to be famous for its fine taste.”
“How am I to trust you?”
“Ha-ha. What reason is there not to?”
After all, even when a demon had descended, hadn’t the Easter alone been safe?
At those words, the Second Prince’s intensity seemed to subside, as if he were somewhat persuaded.
“Very well. However, let us trade one question per glass.”
…A drinking game right from the start, huh?
As expected, this opponent was no pushover.
He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, that’s fine! About three glasses is no big deal.”
Three cocktails—he could manage the aftereffects somehow with a hangover relief potion later.
* * *
Lion had momentarily forgotten that not everything in the world went according to one’s intentions.
Reaching the bar had been fine.
The problem was that the bartender, as if he’d dealt with such situations countless times before, had guided Lion and the Second Prince into a more secluded room.
Up to that point, it was still fine.
It was a small room where they could talk privately, furnished with an assortment of liquors, a chessboard, and even a pool table.
The trouble started right after.
The bartender produced a high-end spirit instead of cocktails.
The deep caramel-colored liquid was clearly a hard liquor just by the look of it.
‘I’m supposed to drink three glasses of that?’
Ugh, I really had to keep my wits about me.
“No conversation from this room shall leak outside, so please do enjoy yourselves at ease.”
“…You have my thanks.”
“I wish you a pleasant evening.”
The bartender gave a bow, his expression full of goodwill, and even shut the door quietly.
Thanks to that, a deep silence settled over the room.
Occasional muffled noise from outside was audible, but not to the point that any of it could be made out.
“…Well, so it goes. Still, in terms of security, this is better, I suppose.”
The Second Prince seemed to agree.
Lion added thick, glossy ice cubes to a glass, poured a measure of the liquor, and handed it over.
“This seems quite a strong spirit, so please drink it slowly… oh dear.”
The Second Prince knocked back the hard liquor before the ice could even begin to melt and then made as if to ask his question right away.
Lion hurriedly held up three fingers.
“Let’s cap it at three questions.”
“…I shall ask my first question.”
Sharp as a blade, this one.
Then again, the Second Prince would naturally want to use all three of his questions to dig up critical information.
Not that Lion was doing the same.
“Do you possess divine power?”
…Divine power?
The unexpected question threw him into bafflement.
True, he had discerned the curse, but that couldn’t possibly have caused any change in the Second Prince’s body.
He wasn’t a priest, after all.
‘Hold on.’
There was one thing that nagged at him.
[Should you ever desire it, you could walk the path of the priest at any time.]
Namely, having attracted the notice of a god.
‘…Nah. That can’t be it. He must’ve just been reacting to the holy water I’m holding.’
Lion stubbornly brushed the thought aside and answered.
“No. I do not possess divine power.”
At those words, the Second Prince burst into a disbelieving laugh.
‘How can he be this unruffled by the question.’
A normal person could not have answered a question about divine power so flatly.
They’d be bewildered, or perhaps snap that he was drunk.
To the average person’s ears, wasn’t the question entirely unrelated to the preceding conversation?
Yet to answer without a hint of agitation meant…
‘Even if he doesn’t possess divine power, he’s someone with a meaningful connection to it.’
Either he came from a deeply devout house, or perhaps he had links to high-ranking priests.
Kyle slowly began eliminating the names that came to mind.
None of them matched.
However…
‘There was a rumor recently.’
God’s messenger, who had made a great contribution to the unfinished Sanctuary.
His “special” informant had word that this messenger had vanished without a trace, with his family citing their worry for him as the reason.
But wasn’t that strange?
The Temple would not have so readily let go of a genuine messenger imbued with truly miraculous power.
Which meant that the messenger’s house wielded substantial influence, and…
‘Usually, people with that level of power tend to be wealthy.’
Wealthy enough to visit Hotel Easter.
‘For now, that’s the highest possibility.’
No, he was all but certain.
Otherwise, it made no sense that the man would deliberately seek him out, catch his attention by running his mouth with a ridiculous warning to be wary of gamblers.
‘And that he recovered his vitality in the meantime.’
As the Second Prince fell silent for a moment to organize his thoughts, Lion refilled his empty glass and tossed out a question.
“Drinking on an empty stomach like that must be harsh on you. Is there a particular snack you favor? Or any kind of food, perhaps.”
Was he counting that as a question?
As the Second Prince lifted his head, Lion gave a nod.
“It’s a question, yes.”
Truth be told, in this battle of questions, the ones Lion could ask were rather limited.
It seemed it would take a considerable amount of time to reach a higher level of understanding with the Second Prince.
At least, not today.
In that case, he was better off simply asking after his tastes.
“…Nothing in particular. Eating holds no interest for me.”
“Well now!”
How many delicious foods existed in this world, and this man was living without knowing their flavors?
Genuinely disheartened, Lion knocked back a shot of the hard liquor.
‘Whoof.’
The strong liquor scraped down his throat.
He could practically feel where it was passing through his esophagus at that moment.
The sheer intensity of its potency made his head spin.
‘I made the right call settling on three glasses.’
At this rate he might have been discovered here completely insensible…
And then he might have had to endure Rickshel’s nagging forever.
As Lion gave an involuntary shiver, the Second Prince emptied his glass again.
Wow, was he drinking it like water?
Then again, if he had ties to the Criminal Underworld, he might well have built up a tolerance to poison.
“Are you interested in power?”
“Ugh, no.”
Lion answered without a moment’s hesitation.
As he’d been saying all along, he truly didn’t have the slightest interest in power.
If anything, it was something he wanted to stay as far away from as possible.
In truth, if not for a touch of sympathy and the curse, the Second Prince wouldn’t have met with him “in private” like this either.
‘I would’ve just settled this with a single meeting—together with Rickshel.’
To tell him to stop grinding my little brother down.
To tell him to handle himself properly.
‘…That’s what I wanted to do, but now even that feels complicated.’
Now that he knew the circumstances, the harsh words didn’t come easily.
Needing to soothe a bitter taste in his mouth, Lion fussed about, spearing a piece of cheese and popping it in.
As the rich, savory cheese melted softly down his throat, his esophagus—still stinging from the burn of the harsh liquor—felt somewhat soothed.
And distinctly…
‘The flavor is wonderful.’
The unique nutty, cream-like aroma mingled with the liquor, creating a refined richness.
He could see why alcohol occasionally had a place in food or desserts.
‘But still, I absolutely cannot handle hard liquor.’
In the meantime, the prince poured himself another drink, gulped it down, and fired off another question.
The moment the thought crossed his mind—Anyone watching would think he was drinking water…
“Then how am I supposed to win you over?”
“Pardon?”
Lion stared blankly at the Second Prince.
Was I already drunk?
Or was the prince drunk?
‘What do you mean, win me over?’
Lion was a member of House Asteri regardless.
And wasn’t the heir, Rickshel, already following the Second Prince?
Wait.
‘…Don’t tell me he doesn’t know I’m Lion Asteri?’
He didn’t know?
This was trouble, in a different sense.
Lion had naturally assumed the Second Prince had guessed his identity.
It was a little embarrassing to say it himself, but honestly, how many people here were odd enough to be called an eccentric?
‘Just who has he mistaken me for?’
Given the way he was openly talking about winning him over, he didn’t seem to think Lion was a child of the First Prince’s faction or some noble…
“My apologies, but I have absolutely no intention of getting involved in any power struggle.”
“If that’s the case, why are you sharing a drink with me like this?”
“Your three questions are up, so now you’ll be the one answering.”
“Hmm.”
The Second Prince had noticeably softened up from that last question onward.
Lion had thought it would take a very long time to grow close, but it seemed that worry was unnecessary.
Though…
‘The trouble is, I’ve sparked far too much of that guy’s interest.’
Lion’s plan had slightly gone awry.
Originally, he’d meant to pique just a little curiosity here, then, a few days later, when Rickshel and the Second Prince held their meeting, to get closer with a casual “We met the other day, didn’t we?” and naturally broach the subject of the curse…
‘Hoo boy.’
Wouldn’t it be better to remain an unidentified entity at this point?
…First, let’s wrap up this conversation quickly.
Lion poured two glasses’ worth into a single glass, tossed it back in one go, and fired off two questions back-to-back.
“What would you have done if I were your enemy, asking me such a question?”
“A foolish question. If you were an enemy, I would not have asked you such a thing in the first place.”
He was already convinced that Lion was an ally.
“I’ll ask my final question. Why are you trying to win me over when you have no intention of lifting your curse?”
“An interesting conjecture.”
At that, Kyle let out a low laugh and brought a hand up to his face.
Then, slowly—
He removed the mask and rolled up his sleeve.
“You are half right and half wrong. I have no intention of undoing my elder brother’s petty little ‘spite.’ However…”
The Second Prince didn’t finish his sentence, but Lion could recognize it.
[Brand of a Curse]
-You were cursed from the moment of birth.
This man.
He bore more than one curse.