Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 41
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 41
Lion thought for a moment and then told the story of what had happened.
When he regained his senses, he had already reached the end of the labyrinth, become its master, and repairing the broken labyrinth had taken longer than he expected.
“You, you became the master of the labyrinth?”
“Yes. I don’t remember exactly how it happened.”
Just in case, Lion decided to keep quiet about anything related to the “Story Mode incident.”
A guess was only a guess, and there was no way to prove it was the truth.
Bringing up something uncertain felt like it would contaminate the information.
“Do you have a way to prove you became the master?”
At Petrick’s question, Lion answered calmly.
“Without my permission, access to the library is restricted. And…”
Pretending to take it from his pocket, Lion produced a bracelet—one of the ability-blocking set—and placed it on Petrick’s desk.
The bracelet, impossible to dismiss as a counterfeit, gleamed with a subtle light.
“I found this.”
Rickshel’s eyes flew wide open as he recognized the object.
“Could that be… the one rumored to have been enshrined by the Family Head…”
Petrick exhaled deeply and examined the bracelet.
“It is genuine.”
He had seen it only once when he received it from the Hero, and once more when he stored it away in a box.
Still, he was not a man who would fail to distinguish a genuine article from a fake.
“Then the one around your neck must be its pair.”
“That’s right.”
Lion readily confirmed it.
That left the other two troubled.
One, because he feared his older brother—now the master of the labyrinth—would get tangled up in yet another strange affair.
The other, Petrick,
because he had just confirmed proof that his grandson Lion was directly connected to the “Hero.”
He had crafted the “Hero’s Potion,” been drawn into the labyrinth by the “Hero’s Treasure,” and that treasure had chosen Lion.
Could this chain of events really be coincidence?
No, it must be inevitability, not coincidence.
‘And yet Lion…’
Petrick drew up his mana and examined Lion’s body.
As expected, there was not the slightest trace of mana.
“You keep that treasure. Its purpose was never explained to me by the Hero, but he did say that someone who needs it would eventually appear.”
“Understood.”
The Hero had said that someone who needed it would eventually appear.
A scrap of the “Story Mode” conversation flickered through Lion’s mind—just two words:
“someday” and “need.”
The meaning aligned perfectly.
‘Then that experience really did happen.’
Rickshel spoke, his face grave.
“Family Head. If all of this is true—”
“It will do no good for this to become known. We suppress the information as much as possible.”
“Understood. Then, first of all, I’ll need to fabricate an alibi for about a month. My apologies, Brother, but I will take my leave first.”
“Alright. Let’s meet at dinner later.”
“…! Yes!”
Rickshel seemed delighted by those words alone and dipped his head in a bow before leaving.
Only Lion and Petrick remained in the room.
“Er, Grandfather.”
“What is it? Are you hurting somewhere?”
“It’s not that. In the labyrinth, I obtained something else besides the treasure.”
Only then did Lion draw a single sheet of aged parchment from his breast.
“…!”
It was Sylvia’s Contract.
Seeing it, Petrick let out a low breath.
He had wondered, and now the boy really had discovered even this.
It signified that Lion had become the labyrinth’s undisputed master.
The reason was unknown,
and Lion himself seemed not to know either.
But one thing mattered above all: from now on, nuisance pests would swarm around Lion in droves.
Lion had to be aware of that, yet his expression did not shift in the slightest as he went on.
“I have read the contents of the contract. This… was an agreement made between a Witch and the Former Family Head.”
“That’s correct.”
“And that Witch was Old Sylvia.”
“That is also correct.”
The time had finally come to reveal Elvia’s true identity.
It was not something he could have concealed forever.
Just as Petrick was about to disclose the truth—
Lion murmured matter-of-factly.
“Nowadays, I suppose she is Elvia.”
“…You knew?”
“I didn’t know from the very start.”
Actually, he had sensed it dimly from the first moment he saw Elvia, but Lion embellished the account just enough.
“…So when you asked for a higher-grade potion, Grandfather, I really thought you were having a new romance…”
“It’s not.”
“No. It’s not.”
That part was a little disappointing. He had hoped his grandfather would live out his remaining years in happiness.
‘Though, it would be a bit awkward if he’d known her since she was a baby.’
At that age, wasn’t friendship bound to arise before love?
“At any rate, until that point, it was only a guess. But after reading the contract, I became certain.”
“I see. And what is your reason for showing this document to me?”
“Grandfather. No, I wish to gain the Family Head’s permission.”
The Family Head.
A formal term had emerged from Lion’s mouth.
Petrick narrowed his brows and looked at Lion.
“Say it.”
Lion closed his mouth for a moment, then slowly voiced what he had been thinking.
“I wish to change the terms of the contract.”
“The reason?”
If this had been a conversation with his grandfather, he might have appealed to emotion.
He could have said, she has served the family for hundreds of years—surely that is enough by now.
But—
‘This is a conversation with the Family Head.’
Which meant personal feelings would carry no weight whatsoever.
To Marquis Petrick Asteri, Sylvia was a Witch.
A “monster” capable of burning an entire village to ashes with a single breath, a single spell.
A mongrel born of demon and human blood.
In other words, a threat to House Asteri, and on a larger scale, an enemy of the Empire.
That was probably why his grandfather personally had been unable to help Sylvia properly, even if he had wanted to.
‘Of course, the biggest reason was likely that he couldn’t find the contract itself.’
So he had to make use of it.
Of what Lion had gained there.
That was the only way he could truly help Sylvia.
“Because I have become the master of the labyrinth, and this contract is now my property.”
“…”
A faint smile traced Petrick’s lips.
‘Whose child is he, to be this kind-hearted?’
Becoming the labyrinth’s master meant gaining great power, but it also carried an equally enormous responsibility.
So keeping possession of Sylvia’s contract as it was would have been an unmitigated advantage.
He could wield a staggering power like his own hands and feet.
Yet his grandson Lion was preoccupied solely with how to help Sylvia.
‘He’s probably been agonizing over this ever since he obtained the contract.’
He must have grasped that this matter required an official resolution, and realized that the Family Head would have to handle it.
‘Not bad.’
To be sharp even in this regard.
But that didn’t mean Petrick could give in easily.
That child Lion surely felt the same way.
‘Then I shall play along.’
As his grandfather, and as the Family Head.
“Though you say you have become the master of the labyrinth, that contract belongs to Sylvia and the previous head of the family. And you are also a member of this family.”
“Yes. I am a member of the family. That is why I can make this demand as I see fit.”
“Hoh?”
Even at Petrick’s sharp point, Lion answered without hesitation.
And that was only natural—he had a solid basis for it!
“Because I obtained this contract through the ceremony.”
An item gained through the ceremony forever belonged to the one who performed the coming-of-age rite.
That was the custom of House Asteri.
In which case, Lion, who had obtained the contract,
quite naturally held the right to do with it as he pleased.
He was the labyrinth’s master and a member of House Asteri.
“…That is not an incorrect statement. Very well. Since it has become your property, handle it as you see fit. However, the responsibility will likewise fall upon you.”
“Thank you.”
He had spoken sternly, but in the end, he was granting permission.
And Lion had no intention of using this contract carelessly.
“By the way…”
“What is it, Grandfather?”
Was there another problem?
“Knowing you, you’re certainly planning to speak with Sylvia and change the terms of the contract.”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
If the contract was being revised in a positive direction anyway, he thought it would be better to resolve it through direct negotiation.
“Hmm.”
Petrick’s expression turned peculiar for a fleeting moment.
Just a few months ago, Elvia—no, Sylvia—had been ready to bolt from the family the instant the contract disappeared.
That was how deeply weary she had grown of her repetitive existence.
However.
“These days have been rather enjoyable.”
Elvia did not lie.
If so, then those words must have been the truth.
Her life had grown interesting again, thanks to his grandson.
Even so, an ordinary person would have still tried to escape somehow the moment the contract changed…
But the one in question was no ordinary person; she was a Witch.
‘Besides, Sylvia’s temperament is quite peculiar.’
“No, it’s nothing. Just report the outcome to me once you’ve spoken with her directly.”
“…Understood.”
He was definitely hiding something, wasn’t he?
Lion tilted his head.
“Right. You’ve worked hard.”
Though his personality wouldn’t quite let him add “Now go back and rest,” Lion seemed to have caught his full meaning anyway.
“I’ll get plenty of rest and laze around and sleep late for a while.”
“As you like.”
The response pleased Petrick enough that he let out an involuntary chuckle.
At long last, the month of sleepless nights had come to an end.
* * *
Time passed, and several days went by since he had escaped the labyrinth.
During that time, Lion spent his days lying around to his heart’s content, eating delicious food, and sleeping in.
His family had insisted on it.
Of course, Lion didn’t refuse.
A month-long absence from home was somewhat rough, after all.
“Ahh, this is comfortable.”
No one pestered him, and meals appeared at the proper times without him lifting a finger!
Over the past month, he had felt it in his bones just how honey-sweet this daily life really was.
‘Still, it really is quiet.’
Word should have leaked out by now, yet not a single person had come looking for Lion.
Most likely, Rickshel had moved swiftly.
‘Or maybe they don’t even reach me and get dealt with at Rickshel’s level.’
Either way, there were no problems that could trouble Lion.
Ah, if you excluded just one, that is.
“Elvia.”
Lion called her, but Elvia did not appear.
He recalled the scene from a few days earlier, after he had finished his private talk with Petrick, when he had called Elvia with the contract in hand.
“Young master. Congratulations on your safe return.”
“Thanks. But there’s something I need to tell you. Actually, in the labyrinth…”
“Anticipating your return, I’ve reserved a fine room at Hotel Easter. Perhaps you could go and rest there now.”
“Thanks for being so thoughtful. Anyway, this time the contract…”
“Ah. Before that, you must also receive a thorough examination from Lord Hoffman.”
“No, the con…”
“I shall instruct the chef to prepare something delicious.”
“…”
She had evaded the conversation oddly, and now she wouldn’t even come when called.
“Hoooh.”
Was I too inconsiderate and pushy while she still wasn’t emotionally ready?
But he planned to revise the contract in a favorable direction.
There was no way Elvia wouldn’t know that.
“What can I do? I’ll have to wait.”
The contract had become his property anyway, and he had no intention of handing it over to anyone, nor could it be taken from him.
“I’ll think about it gradually.”
Lion sprang up from the bed and threw on an outer garment.
From today onward, he thought it was about time he went out a little.
His family would surely try to stop him, but he had his own things to do.
He needed to check in on the people who had worried about him, and also visit Hoffman’s Magic Tower.
‘An unemployed person is actually the busiest, after all.’
And while he was at it, he planned to create a good enough pretext to lure Elvia out.