Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 246
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 246
“Lord Lion. It has truly been a long time. I heard you were unwell…”
Licht gazed at Lion with deep worry in his eyes.
He looked ready to use his divine power at the slightest sign of trouble.
‘Absolutely not.’
Divine power right in front of a Witch!
Lion couldn’t even imagine what might happen to Elvia.
‘For a typical undead monster…’
A blast of divine power would purify it instantly.
That meant it would be treated as a kind of corruption and dissolve into nothing.
Of course, a Witch of Elvia’s caliber wouldn’t vanish on the spot or suffer a fatal wound, but…
‘It would still be unpleasant.’
It’d probably feel like having a bucket of filthy water dumped on you.
And besides…
-Mm. It’s certain. That Witch is suppressing her power right now.
-Why go that far to hide it? Aren’t you all humans anyway?
-Their alignments are a little different, I suppose…
Tiamatrak chattered to herself, apparently finding the clash of their auras amusing.
It confirmed a few things for Lion.
First, Licht hadn’t noticed Elvia’s true nature.
And second, Elvia was in the middle of suppressing her own power by any means necessary.
‘She’s never done that before.’
If suppressing it were easy, Elvia would have used it freely even in ordinary situations.
But she hadn’t.
That meant there was a significant cost to it.
-Tsk, tsk. With barely a thousand years to live, you’d think she’d learn to go a little easier on her body…
And what Tiamatrak just said turned Lion’s suspicion into certainty.
There was a cost to the suppression, and that cost was…
A very steep one.
‘I have to fix this.’
Elvia had surely decided it was no big deal.
Maybe she’d even judged it the rational choice.
But Lion didn’t see it that way.
‘There are plenty of other ways!’
…The moment he decided that the first step was to separate Licht and Elvia and talk things out.
“Ah, what perfect timing.”
“…”
“Would you mind lending a hand with making a pie?”
“Oh, if you need an extra pair of hands, I will gladly help.”
Elvia!
What in the world are you doing?
Lion let his bewilderment show without reservation.
“…”
Elvia took the full force of that look and turned her head away, pretending not to notice.
Only then did Lion realize something.
‘Th- This is…’
Elvia’s streak of mischief seemed to have kicked in during a dangerous moment.
Or maybe it was her way of saying she’d handle things according to her own plan after all.
‘So that’s how you want to play it?’
Lion had absolutely zero intention of going along with it.
Still, sending Licht away right now wasn’t a great option either.
‘There’s already enough to make him suspicious.’
Licht was like the Archbishop’s cherished youngest son.
Of course, he was treated that way partly out of pure affection, but also because of the tremendous divine power he possessed.
Hadn’t Lion seen it with his own two eyes?
The way he’d created a river of holy water from divine power back in that barren sanctuary.
‘…And I need to ask him why he came here in the first place.’
In that case, he had no choice.
He’d have to play along with Elvia’s tune while extracting information from Licht.
And the final plan—I’ll make that call myself!
“Ah, cutting the apples does take forever. Let’s get going.”
Lion took the lead, setting off with a sharp stride.
It was a mix of irritation and impatience, but in Elvia’s eyes it simply came off as endearing.
“It has been a while since the young master looked this excited.”
“Has it?”
“Yes. He often spends his leisure time alone, but he is not especially fond of collaborating with others.”
“Aah…”
Now that Licht thought about it, there had indeed been a more animated expression on Lion’s face when he worked alone and roamed the sanctuary by himself.
Licht recalled that day.
The day the blue butterflies took flight and Lion had shown his true appearance for the first time.
That sensation that raised goosebumps along his spine and filled his heart with reverence.
“…It appears the young master has taken quite a liking to you, Lord Licht. Please continue to keep him close company in the future.”
Elvia conveyed those words to Licht, then followed after Lion.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the kitchen.
The kitchen was as spotless as ever, without a speck of dust, and every utensil gleamed as if brand new.
Thump.
Lion set down Elvia’s basket of apples.
‘Apple pie, though…’
Apple pie.
Cut a single slice of a pie from which steam was still rising, and the crumbly, flaky pastry would give way to a cascade of sweet stewed apples, rich with the scent of cinnamon.
And the taste?
Bite a large mouthful, and the savory richness of butter combined with the deep sweetness and tartness of the fully cooked apples in a beautiful harmony.
‘Delicious.’
Besides, he’d noticed when they made cookies last time—Elvia’s cooking skills were outstanding.
Especially when it came to confections and sweet breads.
Was it the taste of a Witch’s touch?
If these were ordinary apples, he’d already be swallowing back drool, but…
[Witch’s Apple (★★)]
-An apple cultivated with special care by a Witch.
-It looks so tempting you’ll want to sink your teeth into it right this instant.
-Consuming a small amount induces a pleasant nap.
-Be careful not to choke on the apple!
The problem was that those tempting apples were a strain Elvia had personally bred.
‘I didn’t even know something like this was at the mansion.’
Elvia was probably planning to fall into a deep sleep in order to minimize contact with the priest.
‘She must have assumed Licht would leave soon enough.’
But still, that apple. Would it really just end in a nap?
The description could only tell him so much.
Crunch.
-You’re eating that?
Lion picked up a single apple and took a big bite with a satisfying chew.
In the same instant, a faint, almost imperceptible sharpness flickered in Elvia’s eyes.
“Mm!”
The firm flesh split open, releasing a gush of sweet-tart juice.
It was tarter than an ordinary eating apple—probably because it was meant for pie—but the flavor itself was so full and rich that it was perfectly fine.
As for the drowsiness…
[Status Ailment: Resisted Sleep.]
‘Hmm, looks like I’ll be okay.’
As the description said, it seemed to be a very mild sleep effect.
-…You’re not falling asleep? Are you less frail than I thought, Lion?
Lion ignored Tiamatrak’s comment.
“That’s a delicious apple. Would you like a bite as well, Priest?”
“Ah, I shall wait for the finished product. Please, don’t mind me and eat your fill.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
It was understandable, given what Licht was seeing…
‘He’s in a sorry state indeed…’
Because Lion was still covered in dust from the earlier explosion.
And right next to him…
Bob, bob.
An accessory of unknown identity drifted through the air as if it had a will of its own.
It was presumed to be a bracelet, but it was darting around so erratically that it was hard to be certain.
The earlier explosion was surely tied to that bracelet as well.
He’d probably skipped a meal and thrown himself into some project.
‘It would only trouble him if I pointed it out, so I’ll pretend not to see.’
And better to at least let him fill his stomach a little with an apple, even if it wasn’t a proper meal.
Having resolved himself, Licht deliberately turned his attention toward Elvia.
In truth, Elvia was the only other person around.
Elvia instantly smoothed away the brief sharpness in her gaze and put on a kindly smile again.
“Then, Lord Licht, would you be so good as to slice these apples neatly and thinly?”
“Understood. I should remove the seeds, should I not?”
“Yes. Please do.”
Licht began slicing apples at a cutting board set a short distance away.
He was a little clumsy at first, but soon he was producing apple slices neat enough to sell in a shop.
Tap, tap. The sound of the cutting and the fresh, fragrant scent filled the kitchen.
While Licht was diligently preparing the apples.
“Now then, shall we start on the dough?”
Lion naturally avoided meeting Elvia’s eyes, sifting the bread flour through a sieve until it fell in a fine cloud.
The next step was to cut in the butter and gently work the dough.
Honestly, even without Elvia’s guidance, the process of making pastry dough had become easy for him by now.
“Young master.”
“Hm? What?”
“Would it not be better to refrain from reckless acts?”
Elvia chided Lion gently in a low voice, quiet enough that Licht wouldn’t hear.
She was talking about his biting straight into that apple moments ago.
“What if, by some chance, I had prepared a poisoned apple?”
“You, Elvia?”
“I am not fond of divine power.”
“Nah. No way you’d ever do that.”
Lion answered with perfect nonchalance.
Right. Elvia was a Witch.
Because she was a Witch, it made sense that she’d want to avoid contact with divine power.
Out of fear it would harm her own body?
No, because she didn’t know what influence she herself might have on that priest.
Even if that reason boiled down to “it might cause a hassle later,” that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was this.
“You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Elvia.”
Sprinkling salt evenly over the crumbly dough mixture, Lion added cold water so the dough could properly come together.
The flour mixture clinging to the still-solid bits of butter mingled with the water, transforming into the familiar texture of pastry.
“Heh-heh. It is no strain on me at all, young mast…”
“But it might look that way to other people. Right?”
“…”
Elvia let out a soft sigh.
The trouble with our little pup was that he was far too perceptive.
What did a few years of a Witch’s thousand-year lifespan matter in the grand scheme of things?
“Anyway, don’t worry. I have a good way around this.”
“…”
A good way?
Did he mean to claim there was a more rational approach than the one Elvia was already using?
‘Could he mean that thing?’
Elvia looked at the bracelet that was still circling around Lion.
“There! What do I do next?”
Lion finished the dough and deliberately asked Elvia.
“…Haa.”
Seeing Lion’s utterly artless expression, Elvia let out another sigh.
‘To think it’s come to this.’
Truthfully, there had been a separate reason she’d allowed the young priest to come along.
She’d been genuinely curious: was it true that whenever Lion caused an incident, people around him came drifting in as if enchanted, one after another?
‘I was so sure I’d be the exception…’
She had been confident.
She already knew all about Lion’s kind heart and the way he looked after people. She even knew about the special power he held.
So, to be precise, she’d thought she wouldn’t be enchanted a second time.
But even so…
‘To enchant a Witch not once, but twice.’
And with the same method twice over, at that.
If anyone who’d known Elvia’s true personality were still alive, they’d have mocked her endlessly.
Of course, she hadn’t been completely won over by Lion’s schemes just yet, but it was probably only a matter of time.
Elvia found she had no desire at all to get in the way of her pup’s adorable little plan.
“First, it simply needs to rest in a cold place for a time.”
And in the meantime, they could make the sweet filling.
“Shall I fetch different apples?”
In any case, now that the scheme was blown, there was no need to use those specific apples.
It would be a shame to waste the apples she’d put so much care into growing, but well, she could always grow more.
But Lion…
“Hm? Nah. We’re using these.”
He had no intention of doing that.
He was planning to make a sleep-inducing pie and put it to good use!
Lion meant to put Licht to sleep briefly with Elvia’s apples.
‘Codename: <While You Were Sleeping> Operation!’