Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 170
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 170
Rickshel unleashed a torrent of nagging at Lion.
For someone as taciturn as Rickshel, so many words pouring out of his mouth was genuinely rare.
To sum it up roughly…
“What in the world were you thinking, brother?”
Well, as everyone would expect, the gist was that it had been a highly dangerous course of action.
What kind of person the Second Prince was—how dangerous,
how ambitious, and how obsessively he lived to achieve his goals.
Lion nodded along steadily as he listened to Rickshel.
He had anticipated to some degree how worried his younger brother would be.
That was precisely why he had hidden it.
If there was one silver lining…
“Alright, let’s talk while you help yourself to more food.”
It was the fact that the nagging was happening while Rickshel ate the food Lion had brought from the kitchen.
If he’d been truly angry or upset, he wouldn’t have eaten a bite.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Eat plenty.”
Even in the middle of it all, he complimented the food. Truly, he was a good-hearted kid at his core.
“Did you cook for the Second Prince as well?”
“…I did.”
“Did he eat it all?”
“He ate well.”
“Haah.”
He hadn’t heard the whole story, but it was apparent the Second Prince was completely captivated by his brother.
Indeed, after a few conversations and a taste of his cooking, he was bound to be drawn in.
Rickshel chewed and swallowed all the food in his mouth, dabbed his lips with a handkerchief, and only then let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo… Knowing your personality as I do, it’s my fault for being complacent.”
“Huh?”
Why did the conversation suddenly swerve in that direction, little brother?
You haven’t done anything. Why is it your fault?
“And what about my personality, exactly?”
“You can never ignore someone who’s pitiful, can you, brother?”
“Well, it’s not necessarily like that…”
Lion’s good deeds had complex motivations.
The single biggest reason was, of course, something to do with his main character.
But since he couldn’t say that, his words naturally trailed off.
“Of course you had no choice but to help the Second Prince.”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
“Don’t you see?”
Rickshel replied, neatly placing a side dish atop his rice with now quite familiar chopstick work.
“Because he was the unhappiest person in this hotel.”
“…”
“This is a place where everyone comes to pursue happiness and enjoyment. In such a place, he was the only one with a face like death, so naturally, he couldn’t help but catch your eye.”
Lion couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth lifting at those words.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I’m proud.”
“Of what, exactly?”
“I just thought, by that logic, your trying to make the guy Emperor isn’t so different from me.”
“That’s not true. It’s simply that his individual abilities are superior to the First Prince’s…”
Rickshel stopped mid-sentence, his words stuck in his throat.
He had more than enough evidence to back it up.
His personal capabilities, lack of a powerful maternal family, the insight to draw talented people to his side.
However.
His brother had asked a different sort of question.
Was there truly not a single speck of emotion in his decision?
Was such enormous support given purely for practical reasons, and not out of a genuine desire to help the man?
To be honest… yes. He couldn’t claim that personal feelings hadn’t been involved, but!
“…I believe this is not the topic at hand!”
Rickshel barely collected his wits and extracted himself back to reality.
He had almost fallen for his brother’s tricks!
“Now that I think about it, my premise was wrong. That your personality was the problem.”
No matter how angry he was, how could he have made such a rude remark?
“I apologize, brother.”
“No need to even apologize…”
“The blame for all of this lies with the Second Prince, who arrived at the hotel early despite my postponement of your meeting.”
Rickshel said this, covering his mouth with his fist and murmuring.
“No, knowing his sly nature, he might have purposely approached you, brother.”
Of course, he was his chosen future Emperor, but regardless of that, the man’s cunning was breathtaking.
And yet, he had a sharp eye for people, so he must have come here on purpose to win his brother over.
Rickshel’s expression hardened a little coldly.
‘Of course, it’s a fact that my brother is great and outstanding.’
But the problem was his brother’s body.
He’d become quite healthy now, but he was born frail, so he mustn’t be overexerted, not even a little.
Knowing the Second Prince’s nature, he would use any means to seek his brother out.
And if he figured out his brother’s true identity afterward…
‘He’d latch on.’
That cannot be allowed. It would do nothing to help his brother’s emotional and psychological stability.
Wasn’t peace of mind the same as peace of body?
And…
‘The Family Head would not wish for it, either.’
His thoughts gradually crept toward the conclusion that his brother needed to be separated from the Second Prince.
“Ahem. Brother.”
Rickshel cleared his throat briefly and called Lion in the gentlest, kindest tone he could manage.
“…Yes?”
Realizing something was off, Lion answered a bit late—
‘Uh-oh. This is a bit…’
For the first time in a while, Lion’s danger sensor went off.
You know the feeling.
When someone who smiled every day suddenly turned serious, it was frightening.
But the opposite was just as bad.
When someone who always spoke stiffly suddenly became gentle and amiable…
that was a serious problem too.
“I would hardly dare to interfere with your undertakings, brother. It’s just that I wish to learn from… not your intentions, but your kindness. So, may I ask you one question?”
“Y-yes.”
“Why is it that you wish to help him?”
It had come.
Lion let out a light sigh.
Answers like his heart simply going out to him, or because he felt sorry for the man, wouldn’t fly.
Rickshel had called it kindness,
but what he was likely demanding was this:
A justifiable reason that he could accept.
Lion pondered for a moment.
The easiest route was just to tell the truth.
About the Second Prince’s other curse, that is.
‘From the looks of it, Rickshel doesn’t know.’
In his earlier barrage of nagging, the First Prince’s curse had been mentioned, but there was no mention of a congenital curse.
It wasn’t that he was hiding it on purpose; he genuinely didn’t seem to know.
‘But that guy was desperate, too.’
To up and tell me that fact just like that.
…Anyway, explaining that he could resolve the Second Prince’s congenital curse with alchemy would clear up all questions. But—
‘I can’t explain the process in between.’
Meaning, the reason the Second Prince believed Lion could break his curse:
he guessed it was the notification from Anyatras at the Temple, showing interest in him…
“Mm…”
After a moment of thought, Lion spoke.
“The first thing you need to know is that I intend to help the Second Prince just this once. As you know, I absolutely hate getting entangled in that sort of thing.”
“Yes, I know.”
Rickshel nodded gravely and listened.
“I scammed the Second Prince.”
“You did. I understa…”
Rickshel’s expression slowly hardened as he listened to Lion.
“Forgive me, but I think I misheard. Could you say that one more time?”
“I said I scammed him.”
“The Second Prince.”
“Yes.”
“You, brother.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For my own benefit. Though I can’t tell you what it is.”
“…Benefit, you say.”
Rickshel didn’t answer for quite a while.
But one thing became
unmistakably clear.
And that was: his brother would not tell him about this ‘benefit.’
“I understand.”
“I’m really grateful you understand…”
“If you suffer any major detriment from this matter, brother, I will no longer support the Second Prince.”
“Huh?”
In that case, a clear line had to be drawn.
And Rickshel knew exactly how to do it.
The way to stop his brother was to apply pressure on those around him.
As it happened, Rickshel had one good card to play in this situation.
Namely, his support of the Second Prince as the ‘Heir of House Asteri.’
Yes. This was…
A form of threat.
‘That “benefit” he mentioned is clearly something he’s weighing.’
His brother usually speaks only the truth. Especially in matters like this, even more so.
And if it was something he couldn’t even easily bring himself to mention…
‘It must be something even I’m not allowed to know.’
His guess was that it was something like groundwork for a matter that would one day yield a massive return.
But even so, his brother must not set foot in dangerous situations.
That was why he had dared to speak to his brother in a threatening manner.
Once this was resolved, he would have to beg forgiveness a hundred times over, but being associated with the Second Prince was that undesirable.
It wasn’t just because of the excessive workload he’d spoken of earlier.
Wasn’t his brother someone who should fly freely like a bird!
If he slowly got entangled in this kind of work, restrictions would naturally arise.
The nobles. No, not their physical power, but the central nobles aligned with the First Prince’s faction.
Their weapon was their cunning tongues.
His brother might be aware of it to some degree, but it was a type of harassment and pressure he had never directly faced before.
“I am not speaking only of this incident.”
The future was the bigger problem.
Suppose he helped the Second Prince with this current matter.
He had put on a disguise, and his brother must have taken his own measures.
But the Second Prince was…
Not a man who gives up.
He would try to curry favor and win sympathy, whatever it took.
Hadn’t he asked just such a question in the earlier meeting?
And once one person started prodding, others were bound to start looking into it, too.
“Of course, I intend to support you in every way, materially and spiritually, going forward. This will never change.”
But that aside—
“However. I… I fear that I may fail to protect you, brother.”
After he finished, Rickshel dropped his gaze.
It was a threat masquerading as concern, and it could easily be heard as: I am helping you, so behave accordingly.
“You’re carrying a lot of worry.”
Lion reached out and ruffled Rickshel’s hair.
Rickshel was the Heir of House Asteri.
He had probably witnessed countless dirty affairs.
Lion knew this stemmed from a wish that none of that filth touch him, and from a sense of duty that he had to protect his family.
‘What to do…’
After a moment of hesitation, Lion slowly opened his mouth.
“The reason I can’t explain it to you now is that I’m still only guessing myself. I’m not hiding it from you.”
“…I know.”
“When I get a firm grasp on it, I’ll likely need your help. So, could you give me a little time?”
This was genuine.
Perhaps the time when Lion approached the truth wasn’t that far off.
Hidden quests, information on items.
And wasn’t he gaining pieces of information about the Hero one by one through his conversations with the Archbishop, the most learned about Divine Power and seals?
“I understand… Then I’ll take my leave first.”
But Rickshel’s feelings could easily differ.
Wasn’t the person he trusted and relied on hiding something from him?
At his age, it could well feel like a betrayal.
“Okay.”
Once Lion gave his permission, Rickshel headed to his room with his head still bowed.
And the door clicked shut.
But his feelings were somewhat removed from the hurt Lion was imagining.
‘There’s definitely something.’
Rickshel stood alone in the dark room, lost in thought.