Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 82
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 82
Just as Lion had guessed, Clarentia hadn’t been sleeping.
‘I’m tired.’
A Sword Master’s body shouldn’t have been this weak, yet an inexplicable, terrible fatigue had seized hold of her.
And so, in moments like this when nothing else demanded her, she would crawl into bed.
Only this room. Only this bed could grant her any rest.
‘Or maybe not.’
Come to think of it, that wasn’t really true either.
Hadn’t she survived several assassination attempts even here?
Concealed weapons flying at her while she lay down, her room suddenly catching fire—such incidents had been common.
Back then, those moments had been terrifyingly dreadful, but now they were simply things that had passed.
She felt no great regret.
Even if she went back to that time, there was nothing she could have done anyway.
‘Because I never picked up a sword.’
She had simply lived under protection.
Since she hadn’t prepared to defend, it was only natural that she couldn’t protect.
That belief had never changed.
Clarentia thought the soft bed felt like a sticky swamp.
The sensation of sinking down like this… wasn’t bad.
She thought that it would be fine to sink deep and never escape, that it would be all right.
It wasn’t as if she was actually dying, so couldn’t she let it be, just for a little while?
If possible, she didn’t want to open her eyes for any disturbance.
Because if she didn’t do at least this much, she felt she truly could not endure.
For just a brief moment, she would submerge herself as others surrendered to sleep.
Always. She passed her time with such thoughts.
But then…
“Mm, that looks delicious.”
A sound that should never have been heard echoed from the Marquess of Bydantis’s private room.
Clarentia’s fingers twitched involuntarily.
Lion Asteri.
The voice of that man, whose identity she could not grasp, rang out clearly in her room.
Rustle! Clatter!
On top of that, a constant rustling noise indicated he was doing something.
‘Is he trying to wake me?’
Was he going to pull some absurd stunt because she hadn’t socialized with him?
She had thought that was a possibility…
But it seemed not.
She hadn’t opened her eyes, but she could tell by his aura.
He was quite busy with something on his own.
The quiet sounds of his activity gently grated on Clarentia’s nerves, which had been trying to sink into lethargy.
‘What on earth is he scheming?’
She had known all along that Lion had entered her room.
There was no way she wouldn’t know.
Though she seemed otherwise, Clarentia’s nerves were always on edge, and because of that, she saw and heard everything.
“What are we to do about our young lady… no, the head of the family.”
“Still, if we grow timid too, the Marquess will be saddened, so let’s do our best.”
“Yes. Sir Jasper. I’ll believe in you!”
…For example, things like this.
She had long known that Jasper and the servants worried about her.
So perhaps this was also the doing of the servants.
It seemed like they’d crossed a line, but Clarentia decided to simply turn a blind eye.
Because she knew how loyal they were to her.
‘Anyway, if I don’t react, they’ll tire themselves out and leave.’
Even if it was Lion Asteri, how could he handle a total lack of response?
But then…
At some point, a sweet scent began wafting from the tip of her nose!
‘This is…’
Before she knew it, Clarentia had focused entirely on her sense of smell.
A hint of bitterness, a savory aroma carrying a rich, nutty fattiness.
And the sweetness pricking at the tip of her nose was…
‘Chocolate?’
So, Lion Asteri was currently melting chocolate in the room where the owner lay sleeping.
Even for the emotionally exhausted Clarentia, this was preposterous.
To be ignored, one had to deviate from common sense to a reasonable degree… but he hadn’t just deviated from it; he had completely shattered its framework.
But was it harmful? No, it wasn’t.
…And because of that,
she couldn’t get a handle on the situation.
‘Should I just leave him be?’
If he wasn’t being threatening, was there truly a need to confront him?
But even so, to leave him alone…
It bothered her immensely.
Her room had always been quiet.
It was her own space, where not even a single small noise could be heard.
Knowing this, the servants never lingered long in the room.
Perhaps only the head butler Jasper could do so.
Anyway, since becoming Marquess, this was the first time someone had come into her room and acted this way.
And besides, whatever his scheme was, hadn’t he neither woken her nor called out to her?
‘But… how did he melt the chocolate?’
To melt chocolate, you needed fire…
Did that mean he kindled a fire inside the room?
She hadn’t sensed any fire, but if he hadn’t used fire, how could one possibly melt chocolate?
‘That’s right. Fire is dangerous.’
Unexpectedly, arson had been more dangerous than assassination.
Even if you fled the flames, the smoke would enter your lungs and steal your breath.
Honestly, it was an unpleasant memory.
‘I can use the danger as an excuse to kick him out.’
Because then at least she could protect this silent, desolate morning.
After resolving this inwardly, Clarentia slowly lifted her tightly shut eyelids and raised herself up.
And when she looked at where Lion was…
There was no… fire?
‘Did he bring pre-melted chocolate?’
But the chocolate smell hadn’t started until after Lion Asteri had entered the room?
A very small sense of defeat bloomed in her heart.
‘My excuse to kick him out has disappeared.’
On top of that, Clarentia had even gotten up.
In that case, she should at least sit at the table, as befitted a host welcoming a guest.
That was the family head’s role when receiving a visitor.
As her thoughts were churning in this direction.
“You can go back to sleep.”
Lion Asteri said, not even looking her way.
It was as if he had read her mind.
“…”
“You don’t have to sit in front of me.”
Clarentia maintained her silence for a moment, then lay back down.
She couldn’t even begin to guess the reason, but since the guest had given her permission, wasn’t it all right?
“…”
It was a strange feeling.
Perhaps because of that, her eyes wouldn’t close easily.
Clarentia stared blankly at the ceiling.
The ceiling pattern she had seen countless times felt unusually cozy today.
Also…
The clattering sounds of Lion Asteri working on something didn’t bother her as much now that her eyes were open.
Rather, mixed with this deep chocolate fragrance, it gave off a not unpleasant sensation.
Her eyelids settled heavily downwards.
The tension gradually left her body, and her tightly pressed lips parted slightly.
And then…
…
…
‘…Hah!’
Clarentia woke with a startled gasp.
She had fallen asleep.
‘Impossible.’
Clarentia shot up immediately and checked the time.
The sun was already high in the sky, scattering warm rays down through the frigid air.
“…How troublesome.”
To wake at such an hour.
This wouldn’t do.
She had mountains of work to do as the family head…
‘What on earth is Jasper doing?’
If Jasper had come up, she would have felt his presence and opened her eyes.
So why hadn’t he come up?
Uncharacteristically flustered, Clarentia finally recalled Lion’s presence and turned her head.
And Lion was…
Sitting in the same spot as before, leisurely reading a book.
“You’re awake.”
Only then did Lion lift his gaze from the book and look at Clarentia.
“What is the meaning of this.”
His brazen attitude left her speechless.
If anyone saw this, they’d feel as if this was Lion Asteri’s room and she was the one who had committed a breach of etiquette.
“I was waiting. Please, come have a seat here.”
“What did you do to me?”
Clarentia asked, furrowing her brow.
That’s right. That man must have done something.
Otherwise, there was no way she could have suddenly fallen into such a deep sleep.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“…”
“What power could I possibly have?”
That was, in fact, true.
That suspicious attendant of his wasn’t even visible.
Clarentia stood there awkwardly for a long moment, glaring sharply at Lion, then very slowly, stealthily, moved to take the seat in front of him.
“…”
And she was still watching Lion with eyes full of suspicion.
‘She’s just like a stray cat.’
The wariness, the stiffness, the way she curled in on herself—wasn’t it exactly like the stray cats he used to see during his commute?
Of course, he felt a little sorry comparing a person to a wild animal, but her visible mannerisms were identical.
‘When it’s like this, the best thing is to let them relax on their own.’
Lion pretended not to notice Clarentia’s staring and, with Nature’s help, began melting the chocolate whose surface had slightly hardened.
“Can you warm the milk too?”
“Peeeep-.”
Nature acted as if it were a bother but still opened its beak and kindled a low-temperature flame.
The temperature was just warm enough to feel slightly hot if touched by hand.
At that, very fine bubbles formed along the edge of the container holding the milk, and a fresh, savory aroma wafted out.
It was proof that it was warming up well.
Lion gently stirred the chocolate with a spoon, melting it thoroughly until it thickened again.
Watching this natural behavior, Clarentia shifted her gaze down to Nature.
She had thought it was merely a pet bird.
“Is it a Demon Beast?”
“No.”
“Then how is a bird using fire?”
“Our little one is very talented.”
“Piiik.”
Nature spread its wings wide in a show of confidence.
Though its wingspan was barely larger than a handspan.
“…”
Clarentia stopped herself from asking anything else at that sight.
She had never been a particularly friendly person, but in recent years, what little conversational skill she had left had drastically faded.
And after seeing a chick breathe fire and melt chocolate with it, what more could one even say?
“It would have been perfect if only we had some marshmallows.”
As he slowly mixed the melted chocolate and milk together, Lion murmured with a hint of regret.
If you floated one fluffy marshmallow on top of the hot chocolate, the look would be perfect, and that soft, sweet taste would really bring out the flavor of the hot chocolate even more.
‘Come to think of it, I think someone mentioned Mellograss grows on the Bydantis family’s Snow Mountain.’
It was a flower that bore fruit resembling marshmallows.
If he ever found the time, he’d definitely have to go pick some later.
“Here you go.”
Lion poured a very rich, heavily concentrated hot chocolate into a cup and handed it to her.
“Did you drink some earlier, too?”
“I was waiting so we could drink it together.”
Come to think of it, there were two cups.
Reassuring herself that it probably wasn’t poisoned, Clarentia took the cup and wrapped both hands around it.
Perhaps because the spirit’s fire had slowly raised its temperature, the cup holding the hot chocolate carried a warmth that felt slightly hot to the touch.
‘Tea time.’
How long had it been?
She couldn’t remember.
Clarentia didn’t drink the hot chocolate right away, but gazed out the window instead.
A cold wind must have been blowing hard, as dry branches shook fiercely.
Yet the sky was clear without a single cloud, and the sun was warm.
‘…I hate to admit it, but my body feels refreshed too.’
Indeed, she couldn’t remember the last time she had slept.
Maybe because of that, her body felt pleasantly languid.
It was the first sense of ease she had felt since becoming Marquess.
Her tension melted, and Clarentia slowly took a sip of the hot chocolate.
The glossy, almost sludgy liquid heavily coated her tongue.
“…!”
She had expected it to be extremely sweet, but it was more bitter than she thought.
However, that bitterness actually stimulated her appetite.
Her sharpened tongue detected the rich fat and the sweetness lurking within.
The hot chocolate, too thick to be called a mere liquid, melted once more in her mouth before sliding down her throat.
‘This is… not bad.’
Before she knew it, Clarentia had completely fallen for the hot chocolate.