Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 252
“…To the young master?”
“Yes. I have something important to discuss with him.”
Varg looked at Licht, then subtly averted his gaze.
‘That… must be a lie.’
That priest had likely already caught on to many things.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
‘Because he’s no ordinary person.’
Varg had witnessed Licht’s actions at the temple with his own eyes.
To be more precise, he had seen what Licht was like when Young Master Lion wasn’t around.
‘He is fundamentally a good person, but.’
Quite apart from that, he was in no way inferior to the young master.
O-of course, Young Master Rickshel had more actual combat experience, so in a real fight, the young master would win.
But the problem was.
‘I-I don’t have that kind of ability…!’
Varg was still awkward in dealing with people.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say he severely lacked social tact.
But combat experience always struck without warning.
Varg racked his brain and tried to imitate the young masters.
“I-if you tell me what this important matter is, I can ask him for you.”
“No. It’s something I must convey in person, so that won’t do.”
“Th-then, if you could wait here a moment…”
“It seems he’s in the mansion after all. I’ll accompany you.”
“…”
The attempt was good, but imitation didn’t make one the original.
‘What do I do…?’
Even Varg could tell that letting the priest meet Young Master Lion right now would be a bad idea.
Varg let out an inward whimper.
Just then.
“Then let’s go visit him together.”
“Hm? And you are?”
“I’m Urhil, on guard duty with Senior Varg. I had a matter to attend to beforehand, so I’ve only just arrived.”
Urhil, who had deliberately emphasized the word ‘Senior,’ answered with remarkably natural politeness.
“However, as we cannot currently pinpoint Young Master Rickshel’s exact location, it may take some time. Is that acceptable?”
“…”
Licht looked at the massive knight.
‘This man is probably…’
The party involved in the ‘Bear Incident’ that happened in that village.
The Bear Beastfolk.
He’d heard that Lord Lion had shown him mercy, but he hadn’t known they were living together like this.
‘I could handle him one way or another, but.’
This man called Urhil seemed to have considerable experience in these situations.
‘And if they’re going to defend this much.’
Getting out through the front door was out of the question anyway.
Licht decided to take a step back for now.
“No, it appears I’ve made an unreasonable request at a busy time. I’ll wait in here. Will you deliver my message?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Licht answered with a prayer instead of a greeting and slowly closed the door.
“Phew. Th-thank you.”
“You were in trouble, Senior. This is nothing.”
Urhil looked at Varg, who heaved a deep sigh as if a weight had been lifted, then stared at the firmly shut door.
“But that priest… he wouldn’t try another method, would he?”
“Huh?”
“Like escaping through the window.”
“…Even so, he’s a priest. Would he do that?”
Besides, wasn’t this one of the highest guest rooms?
An ordinary person would suffer a significant injury if they fell from the window.
‘Wait.’
Varg recalled Licht’s appearance.
Hidden by his priest robes, it was hard to tell, but didn’t he have a surprisingly sturdy build for a priest?
And above all…
‘That man is close to Lord Lion.’
In that case, he might do anything!
Finishing the thought, Varg flung the door open without even thinking to knock!
And then he witnessed it.
The wide-open window and the fluttering curtains.
And the empty room.
“Huh.”
Urhil walked to the window, looked outside, and laughed hollowly.
“What exactly is this young master that he only attracts people like this?”
“…I know, right.”
Varg sighed deeply and trudged out of the room.
It was truly unfortunate that the situation had turned out this way, but…
“I guess we’ll just have to f-find him and bring him back.”
“Let’s do that.”
The deed had already been done, so they had no choice but to clean it up.
Varg and Urhil.
The two beastfolk resolved to track the priest down.
* * *
While that incident unfolded, Lion and Rickshel were enjoying a peaceful time.
They had ended up playing in the sand at last, just as Rickshel had wished!
“No, I told you, I’m not a kid…”
The older brother insisted, having argued earnestly that he was fully mature mentally.
‘As expected, you do like it.’
Perhaps a part of the mind really did follow the body, because his brother plopped down onto the heaped sand as if possessed and began engrossing himself in building a sandcastle.
Of course, it wasn’t the kind of sandcastle ordinary children made.
“Heave-ho.”
He set the base mold, layered fine sand mixed with water on top to create a spire, and etched brick patterns into it with a twig.
“Mmm…!”
Lion pouted and carefully controlled his hands.
Perhaps because of his child’s body, his hands weren’t very dexterous, and the shapes didn’t come out as he wanted.
Watching his brother let out a sharp, involuntary sigh of frustration at his uncooperative body, Rickshel casually asked.
“Brother, may I try?”
“Huh?”
…Gasp!
Only then did Lion realize he’d been completely absorbed in building the sandcastle.
Even worse, he’d found it quite enjoyable!
‘What, at my age?’
Sure, he liked making and building things.
That’s why he’d gone all in on the production side.
But still, he’d never liked building sandcastles *this* much.
It didn’t even improve his abilities!
‘Could it be because he’s a child now?’
It was a rational deduction.
Though internally flustered, Lion naturally handed the twig over to Rickshel.
“Thank you. Is this how I do it?”
And though he had noticed all of Lion’s consternation, Rickshel pretended not to as he scratched out the brick pattern Lion had been trying to make with the twig.
“Oh, yeah. Like that.”
“Even with my hands, such delicate work is difficult.”
“…Is it?”
“Yes. If I apply even a little too much pressure, it digs too deep. You are quite skilled despite being young, Brother.”
At Rickshel’s words, Lion’s expression softened.
Normally, he wouldn’t have been swayed by such a compliment, but.
A soft smile spread across his face.
A laugh escaped him before he knew it.
‘…How cute.’
Rickshel thought, taking in the whole sight.
Had Brother always looked at him this way?
He began to wonder if this was the reason he always tried to protect and help him.
Because this was exactly how he felt right now.
“Finished!”
After completing the detailed work with Rickshel’s help and refining the parts he didn’t like, Lion stepped back and cheered.
‘No, why am I so proud of this?’
He still felt a slight sense of dissonance internally, but the immediate joy outweighed it.
And honestly, part of it was the satisfaction of doing the play activities he’d missed out on in childhood.
“As expected of my brother.”
Rickshel praised Lion with sincerity and then gently wiped his hands and cheeks with a handkerchief.
“Next, shall we play indoors?”
“Huh? Play *again*?”
Wasn’t this enough?
And surely Rickshel must have work to do… he was thinking.
“Yes. Actually, when I was little, I wanted to play with building blocks, but I couldn’t because of my Heir Lessons, and I’ve always regretted…”
“L-let’s go right now!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Having grasped to some degree how to handle young Lion, Rickshel once again made to gently pick his brother up.
“No, I want to walk this time.”
Being carried twice in a row was still a bit much.
Of course, it didn’t hurt his legs and it was comfortable, but being held so brazenly was a little…
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.”
If anything, perhaps because he was a child, he was overflowing with energy.
He didn’t even feel very hungry.
“Hmm…”
After a moment’s thought, Rickshel subtly reached out his hand.
“Then, I’ll hold your hand since you might trip. A child’s center of gravity is different from an adult’s.”
-That’s right. Didn’t you almost fall earlier?
-If it weren’t for my cushion, you’d have a bump on your forehead.
It was a valid point.
Lion raised his hand above his head and grabbed Rickshel’s fingers.
The soft, slightly moist palm wrapped snugly around his fingers.
“…”
Rickshel had to do his utmost to suppress the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
‘If the Family Head had seen this, he would’ve been quite jealous.’
Stifling it with a forced cough, Rickshel moved locations with very slow steps.
Just then.
Someone in the bushes signaled rapidly with hand gestures.
It was none other than Freyania.
The content of the signal was…
‘He got away after all.’
Priest Licht had disappeared.
His location was being reported by the servants, but he was proving exceedingly elusive.
‘I expected as much.’
He had anticipated it to some extent, but at least for today, he hadn’t wanted to show his brother to anyone.
Besides, his brother didn’t seem keen on meeting Licht either.
Swish.
Rickshel secretly sent back a hand signal with a gesture and a look, out of his brother’s sight.
As much as possible.
Stop him.
“…!”
Freyania nodded so vigorously her conical hat nearly fell off, then vanished back into the bushes.
She used to stumble even on cleared forest paths, but now her movements were quite elf-like.
She must have honed various skills during her time away from the mansion.
‘She’s become rather useful.’
Now, assigning her to guard his brother would only make her a tiny bit lacking.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. The sand dust was just making my face a little itchy.”
“Let’s go in quickly and wash your face first.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Leaving the matter of Licht to others, Rickshel returned slowly to his room inside the mansion with his brother.
After that, he played with his brother to their hearts’ content, and coaxed his brother—who insisted he wasn’t hungry—into eating.
And finally, when bath time came and they were in the middle of a lively struggle.
Bam.
The door burst open.
Licht, looking utterly exhausted as if he’d been through all sorts of hell outside, rushed in, gasping for breath.
“…You came after all.”
“I do not know what you could possibly be hiding to put me through such an ordeal, Lord Rickshel…”
The hardship had made Licht’s tone sharper than usual, unlike him.
“…”
But when his eyes met the child clutching a fox—presumed to be Lord Lion’s pet—and staring at him with trembling pupils, he had no choice but to fall silent.
Licht’s mind worked faster than usual, and he soon reached a conclusion.
“Lord Lion…?”
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that he’d concluded this was Lion himself, not someone’s hidden child.
“…Hahaha. Hello, Priest Licht. I can explain everything, so first, please come in and have a— *hic*.”
Lion had been about to calmly explain the situation,
but his body had regressed,
and so he finished with a spectacular hiccup.
Hoo boy… today…
It was a continuous stream of embarrassment.