The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 178

I looked at the nameplate again.

《Valer Sirun Halbern》

It really was my dad’s archive.

But what was with this overwhelming size?

It felt like I had stepped into an entirely different building. A massive space opened up before me, completely packed with books.

As I stared around in a daze, a thought crossed my mind.

Is it even possible for a single human to have this many stories?

“Is this… a bug?”

“I don’t know either!”

“Is it normal to have this many books?”

“Of course not! This is abnormal!”

“Yeah… it really looks that way.”

Just what on earth had my dad done for there to be this many books? And what was with this ruined state?

Now I understood why Mac had been so upset.

“The strangest thing here is the books.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

Mac handed me one of the books containing my dad’s life, as if telling me to see for myself.

“Uh……”

Pages blacked out completely, like someone had deliberately crossed them out with thick ink.

“Why are they like this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Dad doesn’t know either?”

“The current head doesn’t seem interested in his own archive.”

According to Mac, my dad rarely came here—and when he did, he only looked up the information he wanted, then left.

“And every time I try to talk to him, he kicks me out right away!”

The baby elephant, clearly full of pent-up frustration, suddenly started crying big tears.

“That jerk! I don’t even know what he’s been doing out there anymore! His ability’s rank got higher than mine, so I can’t even kick him out like I want to! Waaah!”

“My dad’s ability rank is higher than yours?”

“So I thought I was going to starve to death, but now you’re the same toooo! Waaah!”

“Don’t cry, baby elephant.”

“I’m not a baby elephant!”

“Okay, okay. Don’t cry, Dream Fairy. Want more chocolate?”

“Hngh… yes……”

Only after getting more chocolate did Mac finally stop crying.

The fact that my dad’s ability rank was higher than that of an immortal being like this… was that even possible?

“Then what kind of information was Dad looking for?”

“I don’t know. The last time he came, he was looking for something called a singularity or whatever.”

“A singularity?”

For a moment, I thought of the [Spec■■(?)] in my status window. Could they be related?

‘No way… probably not.’

Still, with all these books, not being able to read any of them felt frustrating.

Somewhere among all of this, it felt like the reason my dad went dark in the novel had to be hidden here…

“It’s like food you can’t eat.”

I’d thought coming here would help me understand my dad better, so it was disappointing.

“Huh?”

That was when a book shining unusually brightly caught my eye in the corner of my vision.

“What’s this?”

Dad’s books were divided between intact ones and completely blackened ones scattered on the floor, but this was the first glowing book I’d seen. Curious, I pulled it out and opened it.

Swoosh.

Something burst out of the book and was absorbed into my body.

 

****

 

 

Valer realized something anew.

Just how famous he was—how much attention he drew wherever he went.

“It’s been a while, Grand Duke Halbern.”

“I never thought I’d run into the Royal Guard here.”

Being watched every time he moved was exhausting.

“Does His Majesty also have business at the Mage Tower?”

The Royal Guards flinched slightly under Valer’s gaze.

“His Majesty has requested that we escort you politely.”

“Politely……”

Valer let out a small laugh.

“So there are impolite methods too, then?”

A tense silence fell between them. The Royal Guards swallowed nervously, clearly preparing for the worst, as Valer brushed his bangs back.

He might act carefree and smile easily around Arellin and Mehen, but the weight and pressure Valer carried always made him a difficult person for others to face.

Once again, Valer felt sick of the surname “Halbern” attached to him.

So much so that he felt an urge to rip it off and throw it away right then and there.

If he followed his heart, he’d ignore the imperial knights, ignore whatever the emperor said, and storm the Sky Tower to pressure the mages…

But he couldn’t do that.

‘I can’t make my daughter uncomfortable.’

Valer had always lived however he pleased—but strangely, when it came to Arellin, he wanted to be a proper father.

A father worthy of respect. A normal, gentle father.

The more he basked in the peace and happiness Arellin gave him, the more those uncharacteristic thoughts took root.

Which meant he couldn’t cause trouble.

“Fine. Lead the way.”

The murderous pressure that had made it hard to breathe vanished instantly. The Royal Guards, pale-faced, stared at Valer as if he were a monster.

 

 

 

****

 

 

The inner chambers of the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Edward clicked his tongue as he looked at the man who had been dragged in.

“That’s why you should’ve come quietly when I summoned you.”

“I submitted everything worth reporting in written reports.”

“I ordered you to report in person.”

“There wasn’t anything worth requesting an audience for.”

At the shameless attitude, Emperor Edward finally wiped the smile from his face.

“Do you have any idea how much chaos the capital has been in because of what you did?!”

A sudden military operation, and on top of that, nearly a month of heightened tension on the southern front—grain prices, the South Empire’s main import, had skyrocketed overnight. Preparing emergency stockpiles just in case a war broke out had, in crude terms, nearly scared Edward to death.

And yet the very person who caused all of this, after stirring up such massive trouble, calmly submitted a single report saying “situation resolved,” then disappeared without showing his face!

“The war’s definitely not happening, right?”

Valer answered with a shrug.

Only then did Emperor Edward finally relax, wiping his chest in relief.

“Phew. Please, Duke, let’s move along quietly without any incidents. My lifelong dream is to live peacefully with my Ageni noona—sweet, cozy, and calm. Ideally, I’d even like to quit being emperor.”

“Ed, do you really think the wise Empress would just sit back and let you laze around?”

“……Damn it.”

Knowing full well that marrying the right woman had completely reformed him, Emperor Edward couldn’t come up with a single rebuttal and shut his mouth.

“Why did I have to fall in love with such a perfect woman…….”

Edward launched into a roundabout speech about how deeply in love he was, how well they lived together, how embarrassing yet wonderful it all was, and how desperately he wanted everyone to understand.

Valer ignored the way Edward’s lips twitched even as he forced a serious expression, and firmly cut off what would have turned into a week-long monologue if indulged.

“To the point.”

“Oh, come on. Would it kill you to listen a bit?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to end this audience quickly and go see your ‘noona’?”

Annoying but true, so Emperor Edward nodded half-heartedly.

“Regent Duke.”

So that really was the main issue.

Emperor Edward fixed Valer with a sharp gaze.

“You looked ready to kill him on sight, yet it seems he’s settled into the Halbern estate as a guest. Have things improved between you?”

“Improved? I still want to kill him.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

Valer tilted his head.

“Good question. Why didn’t I?”

Maybe killing him outright just wouldn’t have been satisfying enough.

Even now, with the Regent Duke having regained a measure of peace, Valer felt killing intent—but had no plans to actually do it.

“Is it because of your daughter…….”

“What?”

“Our daughter’s pretty kind, you know.”

Emperor Edward frowned, looking like he had no idea what nonsense he’d just heard.

“So for that kind daughter, you even built her a city?”

Valer shrugged at the mention of El Shionel, which was already starting to take shape thanks to the full mobilization of mages.

“El Shionel, huh.”

Emperor Edward closed his eyes, then opened them.

So the intelligence report had been true.

Arellin really was Shione’s……

“I really don’t like Sister Shione.”

“You’re badmouthing my sister right in front of me?”

“I know exactly who turned you into this mess. Why would I praise her instead of criticizing her?”

“My sister did nothing wrong.”

“Hmph.”

It was impossible for Emperor Edward to like someone who exerted such overwhelming influence over the two people he cherished most—Valer and Empress Ageni—and pushed him to the sidelines.

Especially when that person had always looked down on him and told him, every time they met, to stop living his life the way he did.

‘She told me to be even half as good as my cute little sibling—look at this now! Who’s supposed to resemble whom?!’

He’d tried hard to ignore those curse-like warnings that he’d regret living so recklessly one day, but when he’d been chasing after Ageni…

‘And you even told noona to marry someone she didn’t love!’

How much he’d resented Shione back then.

It was fine now, but remembering those nerve-wracking days made Emperor Edward shiver.

If he found out that Arellin was Shione’s daughter…

He couldn’t even imagine how the beloved Empress Ageni would react.

‘No… she probably already senses it.’

That was why he’d forced Valer to come here today.

“So what are you going to do?”

The eyes of Emperor Edward and Valer met.

“Are you going to reveal it? That Arellin is Sister Shione’s daughter?”