The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 260

“You could’ve been hurt.”

By the time I came to my senses, I was already in Pession’s arms.

‘That’s really Pession.’

I had thought about the possibility of running into Pession from this world someday.

‘But I only imagined seeing him from far away.’

I never thought it would be this close……

“My lady?”

Just like a well-raised male lead with no flaws, Pession was perfectly polite even to someone he’d never met before.

‘This is the original Pession.’

Maybe because this world’s Pession had been through so much,

he wasn’t the crazy, cheerful sunshine-type male lead I imagined.
He looked shaded and tired—but even so, he felt very different from my Pession.

‘Different.’

I couldn’t point out exactly how, but he was different.
Of course he would be—but still, he was different.

It felt unfamiliar, fascinating, and strange.

And yet, because he was Pession, a warm, aching fondness surged up inside me—and that surprised me the most.

‘Wow.’

I really do like Pession.

Even if I already knew that, realizing it so suddenly felt overwhelming. Afraid I might slip up, I bit my lip hard—but when Pession saw that, something unusual flickered in his eyes.

I lost myself again at that look.

Because for a moment, my Pession overlapped with him.

“My lady, are you all right?”

Since I’d been staring silently at him for too long, Pession called out to me again, clearly puzzled.

“…Yes, I’m really fine.”

Even after my answer, Pession kept looking at me with concern.

Just as I tried to step out of his arms to prove I was okay—

Thump.

A sharp pain pierced straight through my chest, and I clutched my heart.

“My lady?”

The pain vanished as quickly as it came. When I steadied my breathing and came back to myself, it was already fading.

What was that just now?

“Are you truly all right, my lady? Were you seriously injured anywhere—”

At that moment, I was too confused to even hear Pession properly.

The first heart pain I’d felt since my master’s treatment.

‘…It’s probably nothing.’

“I’m fine.”

I must not have looked fine at all, because Pession stared at me seriously, as if he wanted to say something.

“Sir.”

Before Pession could speak again, someone else called him.

…Graham.

‘I didn’t think I’d be this glad to see him.’

Graham leaned in and whispered something to Pession. I couldn’t hear it, but it was clearly something urgent.

“Um, thank you for saving me. Pe— I mean. Sir Knight.”

Seeing Pession dressed like a regular knight, I chose my words carefully—and it was the right call.

“…Yes. Please be careful.”

Even though he clearly had to leave, Pession hesitated, his brows knitting slightly with worry.

Well. Even like that, he’s handsome.

“Where did you say the restored gate was?”

“Over there.”

…Did I just hear something about a gate? Must be my imagination.

Even after Pession walked away, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Luka crept up beside me and asked quietly,

“Do you know him?”

“Who knows.”

“?”

When I shrugged, Luka looked confused, then frowned.

“You look like you know him very well.”

Just then—

“My lady.”

Pession, who I thought had already left, came back and asked,

“Have we… perhaps met somewhere before?”

Seeing the oddly urgent look on his face, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Ah— I shouldn’t laugh.

“No, this is our first meeting here.”

“Here…?”

“In another world, maybe we’ve met many times.”

At my cryptic answer, Pession’s expression turned complicated.

“S-Sir— I mean, my lord.”

“What is it now, suddenly…?”

The attendants looked flustered by Pession’s unexpected behavior, silently panicking.

Still tilting his head in confusion, Pession finally left again. Judging by how fast the attendants moved, it really was urgent.

Once he was gone, Luka commented again.

“Arellin, you’re such a rare beauty that even someone like that tried to flirt with you.”

Flirting?

“No, that wasn’t flirting.”

I smiled and walked ahead.

“Come on, how would you know that?”

“There’s a way to know~.”

I could be sure—because I’d personally experienced Pession’s flirting before.

Still…

My Pession will be okay, right?

 

 

 

*****

 

 

Meanwhile, in the depths of the ruins.

Pession was facing a man who had called him a rat.

“So I wondered what kind of rat had crawled in here……”

“…….”

“Turns out it’s a rather precious little rat.”

The man who appeared before Pession, without giving him any chance to hide, was strange.

He was clearly right there, yet Pession couldn’t properly perceive his form.
It was as if the man had not granted permission for his true appearance to be seen.

‘…An Immortal.’

This feeling of every sense in his body screaming.
The crushing pressure that told him, a Sword Master, that he could never win.
The overwhelming presence of a being on an entirely different level.

As Pession heightened his guard, the man laughed as if amused.

“You seem to know who I am?”

“At least what kind of being you are.”

“Interesting. Even humans who know of Immortals are rare… Ah, I see.”

The man lifted the corner of his lips, having realized something.

“You were already someone who received an Immortal’s blessing. This aura… Sloth, is it?”

He flicked his finger.

“If it were the blessing of another Immortal, I would’ve killed you without hesitation… but I owe Sloth a favor from long ago. You’re lucky.”

It felt strange.
Why did an Immortal he’d never met feel so familiar?

That sense of familiarity unsettled Pession.

“Who are you?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. My epithet is a nightmare only to mages.”

Seeing no intention of a straight answer, Pession changed the question.

“Then let me ask something else. What is this place?”

Surprisingly, the reply came easily.

“A cradle.”

“A cradle?”

“Yes. The cradle of a god.”

This place was nothing like what the word cradle suggested.
Ominous, massive energy writhed in the air, as if it could explode at any moment.

Yet the man remained perfectly calm.

Seeing that, Pession’s thoughts raced.

‘I don’t know the details, but this place is dangerous.’

The Halbern Grand Duke—whom Pession believed he’d find inside the ruins—was nowhere to be seen.

At this point, investigation or anything else could wait.
Getting Arellin out safely had to be the top priority.

‘Where is Arellin?’

He understood that Duke Gremwatt had attacked and betrayed him—but why was he alone when he woke up?

And it didn’t seem likely that this Immortal knew anything about Arellin.

“Do you know anything about Duke Gremwatt?”

Just as Pession asked a question that might actually get an answer—

“O Nightmare of the Stars! The sacrifice has escaped!”

At Duke Gremwatt’s sudden voice, Pession turned sharply.

‘Sacrifice?’

“The mage sacrifice disappeared beyond the gate. Should we pursue? If she dies over there, won’t that cause problems?”

As Pession listened to Gremwatt’s anxious words, a terrible premonition ran through him.

A mage sacrifice…
Could it be—Arellin?

“Duke Gremwatt. Don’t tell me you were planning to offer Arellin as a sacrifice?”

With a cold expression, Pession lunged forward and grabbed Gremwatt by the collar.

“Y-Your Majesty! Why are you here—!”

“Where is the gate?”

“Ghk…!”

“Answer me!”

Choking, Duke Gremwatt barely managed to point somewhere.
The center of the cavern, where ominous energy was gathered.

Throwing the duke to the ground, Pession ran toward the gate without looking back.

“Your Majesty! You mustn’t!”

Gremwatt tried to stop him too late, but Pession had already vanished beyond the gate.

“What should we do, O Nightmare of the Stars? Didn’t you say the number of parallel worlds connected to this ruin is nearly infinite…!”

Duke Gremwatt panicked, but the Immortal he desperately called was already focused on something else.

“Arellin?”

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

I arrived at the Halbern estate of a parallel world.

No—

I should say, what used to be the Halbern estate.

“…This is really the Halbern estate?”

The location was right, but it looked more like a dungeon placed in front of me.

With its walls collapsed and covered in vines, yet surrounded by countless powerful protective spells, the Halbern estate stood before Luka and me.