The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health – Chapter 236

Author: Asternkm

“I was wrong.”

Pession was desperate.

He was afraid that Arellin might push him away even now and disappear somewhere he could never see—afraid that she might vanish from his life forever. As he repeated that he was wrong like an echo, his begging voice trembled thinly.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I…”

Pession clutched Arellin’s small frame—the one he had barely managed to hold onto—as if it were his last lifeline, murmuring the words over and over.

She had been right in front of him. She had come to find him herself. And yet, like an idiot, like a fool, he hadn’t recognized her at all and had only pushed her away.

In that dizzying moment when his chest turned cold, his grip on Arellin tightened.

He was scared that if he loosened his hold even a little, she would disappear again like an illusion—that he would lose Arellin.

When he thought he had lost every chance, when he truly felt abandoned and collapsed in despair, this last opportunity had come to him.

How could he not be desperate?

Pession, not even noticing the tears dropping steadily from his eyes, held her so tightly it hurt and begged for his mistake. He couldn’t bring himself to ask for forgiveness—so he just kept pleading, again and again, for her not to leave him.

Then, Arellin lightly patted his back.

“Okay, I get it. Now let go. I can’t breathe. I survived all this just fine—are you trying to kill me by suffocating me?”

At her faintly amused voice, Pession snapped back to his senses.

Startled, he loosened his hold, but even then, he kept a firm grip on her arms, unwilling to let her move far from him.

‘How can someone cry so beautifully?’

Arellin held back a laugh.

Every time Pession blinked his eyes—soaked with tears—the tears pooled and fell in drops. His drenched eyelashes trembled softly.

Each time Pession cried, it felt as though all the sorrow he’d carried until now was being washed away.

“I told you you’d regret it.”

Of course, the “regret” she’d meant back then wasn’t exactly this.

When Arellin reached out and wiped away his tears, Pession stayed silent, only looking at her.

The face he had once thought was “too similar and unpleasant” now looked completely different.

Straight brows, a small, neatly shaped nose, and gentle eyes.

She had been pretty before, but lifeless—like a doll. Compared to the young Arellin he remembered, she was now so bright and vivid that one could believe she had become an entirely different person.

“Did I really change that much?”

“No. You’re the same.”

“You said I was different.”

“…Back then, you didn’t smile like this.”

At his pouty answer, Arellin smiled again, and Pession’s eyes drooped anxiously.

“So you’re saying I did well?”

“No. I did wrong.”

The quick reply seemed to please her, and Arellin nodded.

“Right. You did mess up a bit.”

I’m a woman who only speaks the truth.

At her swift agreement, Pession’s expression filled with unease.

He was afraid that because of that, Arellin might abandon him.

He had thought he would never see her again. Even now, with her standing right in front of him, he couldn’t quite believe it was really Arellin.

Not knowing she was alive would have been one thing—but now that he knew, if she were to abandon him, if he had to live a life without Arellin again, Pession couldn’t even imagine what he might do.

“…I was wrong. I was wrong, so… I’ll do better from now on.”

Hearing his voice crack with anxiety, Arellin burst out laughing.

Ah, seriously.

“Are you stupid?”

If I really hated you, would I even be here doing this?

“I’m stupid if I don’t have you.”

The answer came back instantly, shameless and sneaky.

“If you were going to be like this anyway, why did you make my life so miserable all this time? Seriously.”

She pinched his soft cheek, and it flushed bright red. Pession frowned, but he didn’t stop her.

“Because I’m stupid?”

“What if you really become stupid? You’re the Crown Prince—you can’t be an idiot.”

“No, you teach me everything, from one to ten. I’m stupid, after all.”

Seeing the way he clung to her hand, refusing to let go of the chance, Arellin laughed again.

Just where did he learn tricks like this?

*****

As I slowly came back to my senses and realized that we had just staged a rather spectacular scene inside the mage tower, a very belated moment of clarity hit me.

“We didn’t see anything.”

“Really. We saw nothing at all.”

Yeah. Sure you didn’t. You watched very thoroughly.

Laughing awkwardly, I dragged Pession out of there while the mages stared at us with sparkling eyes.

I guess I’ll have to bring Master the bread another time.

At least the saving grace was that the mages of the Sky Tower didn’t have much interest in worldly affairs—so chances were they wouldn’t spread what they saw.

Ah… but did Master see it?

Well, that was fine. Master was—how should I put it—like my second parent.

Though, come to think of it, I seem to have an awful lot of parents.

Mehen, Dad, my biological mother, the man who claims to be my father, and probably my real biological father too.

I shook my head at my magnificently tangled family tree.

Anyway—where do we go now?

“Let’s go back to the Imperial Palace for now.”

“Okay.”

It was strange seeing Crown Prince Pession wandering around so freely like this. Normally, he’d have attendants with him.

“By the way, where’s Gairen? Why are you alone?”

“……”

Pession glanced around himself, then shrugged—apparently, he didn’t know either. My eyes narrowed automatically.

“You don’t know? Did he get separated while following you?”

“Separated? How?”

“I was running around like a madman trying to find you.”

Pession answered calmly.

That left me with nothing to say.

If I hadn’t gone to buy bread for Master, the two of us definitely would’ve missed each other.

Wait—how am I supposed to get to Gairen?

Judging by Pession’s current state, I didn’t think I could easily shake him off.

But leaving him behind like this didn’t sit right with me either.

Maybe he sensed my hesitation, because Pession suddenly met my eyes.

“Arrel.”

“Hm?”

“You’re not going to drop me off at the palace and leave again by yourself, are you?”

“…Huh?”

I glanced down at the arm he was still holding tightly.

He wasn’t gripping me painfully, so I’d ignored it—but was this basically handcuffs to keep me from running away?

“You’re not going to abandon me again?”

Hey now, that’s unfair.

“When did I ever abandon you?”

“You said you’d never leave again, but you did. Are you going to do that again?”

I looked at his hand—filled with a stubborn resolve to never let go—and laughed.

“If I leave you alone, that means I abandoned you?”

“Yes.”

Where do I even start teaching him at this point?

“Are you scared I’ll abandon you?”

“……”

Pession bit his lip. I noticed the scabbed-over wound there. Seeing him nod with that pale face softened my irritation instantly.

“It’s always been one-sided.”

“What has?”

“I was the only one curious about you. The one who went to see you. The one who liked you. But you…”

His voice sank, heavy with emotion, as if his throat were tightening.

“You didn’t like me as much as I liked you.”

Now that was unfair.

How many times had I told him I liked him, only for him to spiral into these trash-tier thoughts all on his own?

Come to think of it, even as a kid, he’d always lacked confidence whenever he was around me.

Fragments of memory surfaced—his hesitant speech, the way he’d freeze up in front of me.

“If I didn’t like you, wouldn’t I have left the moment you failed to recognize me?”

I wouldn’t have endured all that pain. I wouldn’t have fought to live at all.

And with Dad… we probably would’ve just existed, barely aware of each other.

“Don’t you get it? You taught me everything.”

To someone who used to wait for death day by day, you came like a natural disaster—and turned into a miracle.

“If you feel like I’ve changed, that’s all because of you. You taught me how to smile. How to get along with people. How to want to live. Even how to stand back up after failing.”

I learned everything from you.

“Arell…”

His wide eyes held only me. I loved that expression—one only I could see, that attitude he showed only to me.

“Now, I can’t explain myself without explaining you.”

My habits, preferences, tone, attitude, values, even my actions—if I took you out of me, nothing would be left.

“Me too.”

Pession pulled me into another embrace.

“I’m the same.”

His damp voice whispered that he’d given everything to me and had nothing left for himself.

Whether my sincerity reached him or not, Pession’s ragged breathing slowly calmed.

Honestly—if I was the only one he liked, what was he so anxious about?

“Arell.”