Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 83
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 83
Lion smiled as he watched Clarentia avidly drinking hot chocolate.
‘I knew she’d like it.’
Actually, it would be harder to dislike it, wouldn’t it?
[Body-Warming Hot Chocolate (★★)]
-A thick chocolate drink that melts away a tired body and mind in an instant.
-On days when you’re too tired and weary, how about a warm sip? It will comfort the exhausted you.
After all, rich chocolate was the best for relieving fatigue and restoring energy.
Gulp!
The moment the thick, almost sticky liquid entered her mouth, the chocolate’s characteristic sweet aroma and bittersweet taste wafted through her nasal passages.
It was said that modern hot chocolate used starch to achieve that thickness, but with outstanding chocolate and milk as rich in fat as fresh cream, there was no need.
Simply combining and mixing good ingredients produced such a wonderful flavor.
‘And I didn’t expect her to drink it right away.’
In truth, even if she had refused, I hadn’t planned to force her.
Because what Marquess Clarentia Bydantis needed wasn’t sugar, but learning how to rest.
Not lying listlessly in bed to mimic the sleep ordinary people have, but rather having time to truly take care of herself.
Figuring out that method was what mattered.
“It’s also good with bread.”
Lion lifted the lid of something on one side of the table.
Inside were churros.
“The chef said he baked them for you, my lady. They’re perfect for dunking in chocolate.”
“…”
As expected, Clarentia didn’t move first.
Having anticipated that, Lion didn’t hesitate; he picked up a churro with his hand, dunked it deep into the hot chocolate, and brought it to his mouth.
Crunch!
It had cooled a bit and hardened, but dunking it in warm chocolate softened it perfectly.
And yet its signature crispness remained…
“Mmm.”
Delicious.
Lion smiled contentedly, dunked another one deep, and pushed it into his mouth.
The coarse sugar crystals crunching here and there added an amusing texture.
“…”
Clarentia watched silently as Lion enjoyed teatime merrily as if she weren’t even there.
And below, at the table, even a pet bird was pecking at the bread crumbs Lion had dropped.
‘Is it that good?’
Honestly, the hot chocolate was unexpected.
Even the chocolate milk she’d had in the past seemed thinner than this…
Swish.
Before she knew it, a churro was in Clarentia’s hand.
And just as Lion had done, she dunked it in chocolate and put it in her mouth.
“…!!”
This, too, was delicious.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten something sweet that wasn’t a survival ration.
Bite by bite.
While Clarentia nibbled the churros away…
[Companion Spirit awakens to the taste of a new food!]
[‘Nature’ likes churros!]
[Warning: Giving too many human snacks may cause bad habits.]
“…”
At the notification floating before his eyes, Lion glanced at Nature.
‘It could even eat human food?’
Whether to call this growing up… it was a bit ambiguous.
Still, it was its first time, so a little wouldn’t hurt.
Lion tore off a corner of the churro he held and placed it in front of Nature.
“…!”
Nature forgot even to chirp, clutching the churro with its tiny feet and tearing into it frantically!
While watching Nature’s lively snacking, before he knew it, the cup was empty.
Clarentia had also emptied her cup, pretending not to have noticed.
The timing was perfect.
“Did you enjoy the drink?”
“It wasn’t bad.”
“You have some on your mouth.”
“…”
Clarentia wiped her mouth at lightning speed.
“I apologize for entering your room without permission, my lady. I actually came because I have something for you.”
“Something to give me? What is it?”
Lion took out a box from his bag.
He had packed it carefully in case it got damaged during the journey.
“…”
Clarentia took the box and immediately opened the lid.
And,
for the first time, a large crack appeared in her expressionless face.
Her widened eyes briefly twisted, then closed as if to hide the quivering pupils, and when she opened them again, she had returned to her usual emotionless state.
Even so, perhaps because the necklace held deep meaning, she held it in her hand silently and fiddled with it.
“Do you know what kind of necklace this is?”
“I don’t know the details. But I did learn that it belongs to House Bydantis.”
“…I see.”
Clarentia didn’t ask anything else.
Not how he came to possess it, not how he realized it belonged to House Bydantis.
Or why he was returning it to her.
It was a longer silence than expected.
In the spacious room, only the ticking of the clockwork could be heard.
Only when the ticking ceased to be distracting did Clarentia slowly open her mouth.
“First, I want to thank you.”
Her gaze remained on the necklace.
Her fingers caressed it affectionately.
After a moment of hesitation, Clarentia placed the necklace back on the table.
“As you said, this necklace is indeed a house item. One could call it an heirloom. But it is an item with no special effect.”
“I see.”
“…So I suppose I inadvertently forgot about it.”
As Clarentia spoke, her brow furrowed as if in pain.
“This was a treasure I was quite fond of. It was also my mother’s keepsake.”
And yet she hadn’t even
thought of looking for it.
A dry laugh escaped. Lion said nothing, just watched quietly.
There was nothing he could say to her now.
She, too, would not have wanted to hear empty platitudes.
Just someone who would stay and listen.
Not a servant she had to protect, nor someone who followed her unconditionally.
A bit of a stranger.
Perhaps she needed a conversation partner who would listen to anything she said.
When Baek Yi-hyeon was young, it had been like that too.
‘Because that way, you can open up and speak your true heart.’
Exactly the kind of stranger to whom you don’t have to hand your heavy burden.
“In the end, was your mother wearing the necklace?”
“In my memory, yes. The last time I saw my mother, she was wearing this item.”
Clarentia looked at the necklace in her hand.
When she saw it as a child, it was just an old, tacky necklace.
Still, the gem was so large and shiny it seemed to spill over her hand, and she had even thought of secretly wearing it someday.
“My father, who was to become the next marquess, probably gave it to her.”
“…”
As far as Lion knew, the former Marquess and Marchioness of Bydantis had met a sudden death on the same day at the same time.
“It was poisoning. Even my father, who had trained his body, couldn’t endure it.”
Lion closed his eyes and opened them again.
If it was a poison that could take down a direct descendant of a Sword Mastery Family… then the necklace’s original owner, the mother, would have been even more vulnerable.
“The funeral began, and even then, I could do nothing but cry.”
“Ah, Clarentia.”
“You must be so sad to have lost your parents.”
“My brother tried to comfort me, but nothing brought me solace.”
In the end, Clarentia collapsed before even making it through the funeral.
Only Grandfather, the family head, stood firm until the very end.
Lonely, even as he watched over the death of his child and their spouse.
The necklace, too, disappeared around that time.
For some reason, Grandfather never looked for it.
So I just assumed it was stored away somewhere.
Several years later, Grandfather’s health rapidly deteriorated, and he passed away.
“After the second funeral ended, as I stood vacantly before the grave, my brother came and whispered.”
“Ah, Clarentia.”
“Now you have truly lost everything.”
“…”
At the sight of him smiling affectionately as he whispered, I realized.
“That all of this was my brother’s doing.”
I screamed as if coughing up blood and asked him why.
“Aren’t you curious? How strong and beautiful the power gained by killing someone precious would be.”
“He answered that he had gained power in exchange for their deaths.”
“…”
What a madman.
Lion frowned.
So the culprit behind all of this was Clarentia Bydantis’s brother.
The late eldest son of Bydantis.
‘And gaining power by killing…’
It was the demons’ way.
Something that had been strictly taboo ever since the war against the demons, and he had somehow restored and used it.
For no reason but his own curiosity.
“Probably the reason my brother told me without any hesitation was because I was weak. Until then, I had never once held a sword.”
And that arrogance brought about his own death.
‘But how?’
How had Clarentia, who had never even held a sword before, won that fight?
As if reading that look, Clarentia rose from her seat and walked somewhere.
“There was something that bastard overlooked.”
Clarentia fetched a sword from one wall and drew it from its sheath.
Shing!
The sound alone conveyed it was an excellent sword.
The blade—should one call it pure white or transparent?
What was certain was that it didn’t feel like ordinary metal at all.
When Clarentia handed it over, Lion instinctively ran his hand over the sword.
And then, without realizing it, his hand stopped.
[Bydantis Holy Sword (Unmeasurable)]
-A sword created to protect House Bydantis. It lends immense power in exchange for the owner’s emotions.
-It has a lethal effect on demons, but conversely, against humans, it functions as an ordinary sword.
“With this, I cut down my brother.”
“…”
That meant Clarentia’s brother… no, that son of a bitch had already crossed the river of no return.
He hadn’t just contracted with demons; he had chosen to become a true demon himself.
“You seem to have recognized the sword’s true worth.”
Lion nodded mechanically.
“It’s a holy sword.”
“Yes. A sword forged for the purpose of vanquishing evil.”
Lion made an effort to nonchalantly hand the sword back.
Given the description about its ability to sweep away demons and being called a holy sword… it naturally seemed like a sword imbued with divine power.
But—
‘Is this really a holy sword?’
Isn’t the additional function a bit malicious?
The part about using emotions as collateral.
Some might say it’s fine to sacrifice emotions in exchange for great power.
But where does the lack of emotion lead in the end?
Ultimately, you’ll destroy yourself and everything around you.
Seeing that the sword was hanging on the wall like an ornament, it seemed she wasn’t using it now…
‘So this was the starting point.’
Clarentia’s emotions hadn’t simply worn away.
Her gaining great power and recognizing Elvia’s presence—it was all likely the sword’s influence.
Of course, just obtaining a sword wouldn’t turn someone into a superhuman overnight.
Clarentia herself must have put in blood, sweat, and tears.
At least her current skill was genuine.
She displayed incredible martial prowess even with other swords.
But at least a few years ago.
Back then… surely she had used that sword.
‘Wait, if that’s the case.’
Lion picked up the necklace lying on the table.
“My lady. Would you hold this necklace with me?”