Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 167
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 167
The packaging supplies were all ready.
[Easter Packaging Set]
- Keeps food warm and perfectly preserved for one full day!
- Includes bowls, a tray, and a resting cover.
- Please note: after one day, food spoilage accelerates, so be sure to discard it.
The piping-hot chowder Lion had just eaten was thanks to these bowls.
Lion packed up the soup and side dishes, then mounded the plump, glossy rice and packed each portion neatly.
“Whoa, that’s pretty hefty.”
He had given generous servings, so the weight was more substantial than expected.
It genuinely felt as if he were making a delivery.
Lion hoisted the tray and headed out of the kitchen.
The firmly closed door opened far more easily than he had anticipated.
“Oh! Sir. You’re out.”
“Weren’t you heading off to rest?”
“We got plenty of rest, thanks to you!”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
Even as they spoke, they kept sneaking glances at Lion, and the way they looked…
‘He isn’t hurt anywhere, is he?’
‘He seems perfectly fine…’
‘But what is that?’
‘He really did make something!’
It was obvious what they were thinking.
Lion pretended not to notice and spoke.
“I made good use of the kitchen. I said I’d clean up after myself…”
“Oh my, we could have taken care of that for you!”
As the employee said this, they peered through the doorway Lion had emerged from.
But…
Sparkle, sparkle.
…It looked exactly the same as when he started.
In fact, it seemed even cleaner.
How to put it. It felt like the work of someone who had definitely done this more than once or twice.
‘H-how could the young master…’
The employees couldn’t help but be impressed.
In truth, hadn’t they been bracing themselves for a major deep-clean?
It was astonishing enough that the eldest son of House Asteri had cooked, but to also clean up so perfectly afterwards!
“At any rate, it was an enjoyable experience. Ah, and also…”
“Yes!”
“Anything you need!”
“…”
Geez, why did they have to make it so awkward?
Lion smiled awkwardly and handed over the tray.
“This is heavy, you see. Could you take it up to my room?”
“Of course.”
The employee quickly accepted the tray.
It was definitely heavier than expected; he really had made something.
‘I’m curious…’
But the employee did not forget their duty.
A guest’s personal information had to be protected above all else.
This dish was no exception.
“I will see this meal delivered promptly.”
“Right. Thank you.”
“Of course. We hope you enjoy your stay at the Easter.”
Lion left straight away, and the staff used the Easter’s special systems to deliver the guest’s special cooking to his room faster than any other item.
Thanks to that, the fact that Lion had made something in the kitchen never leaked outside.
* * *
Thanks to that, he returned to the lobby feeling light and unburdened.
The one who called out to Lion was a front desk employee.
“Sir.”
“Mm?”
“Your companion asked us to pass along a message…”
They trailed off, probably because of the people around them.
“Ah, it’s fine to say it here.”
If Rickshel had relayed a message through an employee anyway, it wouldn’t be top secret.
The employee glanced around, then delivered the message in a quiet voice.
As expected, it wasn’t anything terribly important.
“He said he will be returning late tonight, so please sleep comfortably.”
However, it wasn’t exactly good news either.
He was coming back late, huh.
‘It can’t be the Second Prince, can it?’
Didn’t that gentleman have a prior engagement?
“Was that all he said to convey?”
“He also mentioned that the meeting with the manager is likely to run long.”
“Aha.”
Well, it was common for meetings about business matters to drag on.
Especially large-scale ventures, honestly… meetings for those never truly ended.
Part of him wanted to just say come back early, but having done this kind of work himself, he couldn’t bring himself to do that.
And… he had things to do himself.
“Understood.”
Once done speaking, the employee bowed neatly and returned to their post, and Lion came back to his room as planned.
When he opened the door, the room had, naturally, been tidied spotlessly while he was out.
And the food he had just entrusted to them…
“It’s already here?”
It had arrived faster than Lion and was already placed on the table.
Worried it might have been handled roughly and spilled, he lifted the lid to check…!
There wasn’t a single drop of soup out of place.
“Wow.”
Feeling a peculiar sense of satisfaction, Lion set aside Rickshel’s portion separately, then transferred his own to the extra tray he had brought and covered it.
And just in case Rickshel ended up coming back earlier than expected, he scribbled a note.
Nothing special, just telling him he’d be hungry when he returned, so he should eat and rest.
‘Hm…’
Lion hesitated a moment, then added one more line.
-You worked hard today, too.
Having set the note beside the bowl, Lion turned his head to check the time.
“Let’s see…”
It was already evening.
The warehouse tour had made the time pass remarkably quickly.
No, maybe he only felt the sun set faster because he had started his day late.
In the past, he might have thought he’d wasted an entire day, but…
‘This isn’t so bad, actually.’
Waking up late, soaking up the sun to his heart’s content, eating a meal while observing the shapes and speed of the clouds drifting through the sky,
leisurely looking at interesting things and preparing food.
It felt like enjoying a proper holiday.
“Peeeep.”
Nature, too, seemed to have decided today was a day of rest, sitting on the terrace railing and enjoying the spilling sunset.
“Hm?”
Apparently, they had even looked after the egg with great care; the Demonic Beast egg was wrapped in a cozy cushion and blanket, stably settled on the terrace chair.
Nature had clearly brought it there using their wind power.
‘You little…’
He had felt a little bad about leaving without it, but to think they were being such a good older sibling…!
“Well done, you.”
Lion used his fingers to tousle the round, fluffy head vigorously.
Nature’s eyes slid shut and they turned their head this way and that, pressing in against the itchy spots.
It was exactly like a little kid proudly showing off that they’d been sitting still and quiet all by themselves, and Lion burst out laughing.
“Haha. Yes, yes.”
“…Peep!”
Snapping to their senses at the laughter, Nature quickly pulled their head back.
And as if embarrassed, they let out a quiet chirp, as much as to say, ‘This much is only natural.’
“Thank you. Then, do you mind keeping watch a little longer?”
“Peeeep.”
“Hey, I’m not drinking today. I’m going for a hangover cure.”
And strictly speaking, what he drank yesterday of his own volition was hardly anything… was what he wanted to claim in defense, but he held back.
Saying that would only make him sound like someone heading out to drink again today.
“Anyway, I’ll be back.”
“Peep, peep.”
Listening to a cry that seemed to say come back early!, Lion put on his mask, picked up the remaining deliveries, and left the room.
* * *
At that moment.
Amid the meeting and information-sharing on business matters, Kyle glanced at the time and opened his mouth.
“I should rest now.”
At those words, Rickshel lifted his eyes from the documents and slowly looked at the Second Prince.
Kyle Sol Ionis.
Regarded as the bastard child born from the Emperor’s one-night fling and a splinter-like stain on the imperial family.
The nobles who value legitimacy find the Second Prince’s very existence grating.
‘Though I suspect even the nobles who “value legitimacy” are simply jealous that they’ve never had such a fling themselves.’
Regardless, it was true that he was at a disadvantage in the Crown Prince contest.
Knowing this himself, he was a figure renowned for an obsessive refusal to so much as touch a sip of tea, let alone food, until any task he undertook was perfectly resolved.
For such a man to say he should rest meant…
“Are you unwell?”
He was aware that the First Prince had used a curse on him out of a private grudge.
No matter how worthless the First Prince was, a curse he laid was a serious crime.
For a curse was something that could only be cast through countless sacrifices.
There had been a time when he had agonized over whether to inform the Family Head immediately…
In the end, he had not.
The reason was purely because the Second Prince had requested his silence.
Saying he could still endure it.
When he had looked straight at Rickshel and said he needed to seize a definitive chance to destroy the First Prince’s legitimacy.
Frankly, even Rickshel had been startled for an instant.
It was not a resolve that could be made with ordinary mental strength.
But…
‘Is he reaching his limit, then.’
The original goal was the Emperor’s birthday.
If his body could not hold out until then, House Asteri was to make the matter public and take direct action.
That meant nullifying the curse directly, without even searching for the one who cast it.
“It is not that. Merely, the accumulated fatigue from the journey here seems to have caught up with me.”
“…”
“Do not worry yourself unduly. I am still fine.”
“…Understood. Then I and the manager will handle the remaining work.”
“Y-yes, yes. That is correct, Your Highness.”
Manager Willi, who did not know the exact state of the Second Prince’s body, nodded as if that was more than plausible.
“Thank you.”
“Please rest easy and do not worry.”
Kyle rose from his seat at once and quickly left the room.
From the look of it, Rickshel probably thought the curse was causing him to cough up blood again.
In normal circumstances, that would have been the correct assumption, but…
‘I won’t be late.’
Regrettably, Rickshel’s prediction was wrong this time.
Kyle smiled to himself as he swiftly headed to his room.
The guest he had an appointment with was coming.
* * *
Since he knew the room number, he could move there naturally without passing through the lobby.
Looking around, just as before, there was no hint whatsoever of where this place was located.
‘From what I hear, even the manager doesn’t seem to know.’
Events like the Egg Coin hunt and other activities were seemingly reported to some degree, but the internal matters of the guest rooms and anything involving wearing a ‘mask’ appeared to be unknown even to Willi.
Well, that much was probably necessary for nobles to come and enjoy themselves without worry.
He was thinking about this and that as he prepared to knock on the door before him when—
Fwoosh!
The door flew open on its own.
‘Gah.’
Lion, who had nearly slammed his face into the door, quickly stepped back.
“You really came.”
“…How did you know?”
“There was a presence in a place that should be quiet. First, come in.”
The Second Prince was already dressed.
It didn’t seem to be because a guest was coming… More likely, he had been working until just recently and had only returned a moment ago.
‘Wait, then the reason Rickshel isn’t back yet…’
Could it be that my little brother is covering this guy’s work for him?
No, if he said he was going to rest, shouldn’t he have let the other people rest, too?
Though admittedly, that would have made coming here a bit more complicated, but couldn’t he just have made some excuse?
“Are you not going to come in?”
“I’m coming.”
Lion answered a bit brusquely for no reason and stepped into the hotel room.
The interior layout was similar to the room Lion was staying in.
There was a bedroom and a sitting room.
The difference was that since it was a single, it had only one bedroom, and…
‘There are weapons?’
Various weapons were placed here and there.
“…”
He wouldn’t stab me if things went sideways, would he?