The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 261

 

“Are you really going in, Arellin?”

Overwhelmed by the dreadful state of what used to be the Halbern estate, Luka glanced at me and asked.

“I have to.”

I was just as shocked—I hadn’t expected it to be this bad either.

“They say that ever since Duke Halbern went missing and the estate was sealed, no one has been able to enter. People who tried to sneak in for the estate’s treasures never came back out.”

Luka tried to stop me, his face full of worry. But I already knew all that.

Those ominous rumors were the reason there had been an episode in the original story where Pession and Chloe brought Harun to the Halbern estate.

‘Back then, Chloe got something really good. What was it again?’

Ah, whatever. I’d find out once I went in.

“If you’re not coming, stay here.”

“A-Arellin!”

“If you are coming, then follow quietly.”

I passed the sign that read No Entry and climbed over the collapsed wall. Luka, who had been pacing anxiously until then, hurried after me.

“Ah! There’s a monster over there!”

“?”

He screamed at empty air the moment we entered, which startled me too for no reason.

“Get a grip. Stay close to me. Look again—do you see a monster?”

“Huh? Uh… no? What… what was that just now?”

“You probably saw an illusion. It’s a common defensive spell used in estates.”

“But sometimes people really do keep actual monsters as sentries!”

“Not here, so stop freaking out.”

My house was already completely wrecked—I was stressed enough as it was.

“But why are you okay, Arellin?”

“Because I’m a star-ranked mage?”

“Oh. Wow… as expected of a mage chosen by the stars.”

Luka’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me. Honestly, though, it probably wasn’t because I was star-ranked—it was more likely because I was a Halbern.

‘So it works even in another world.’

I must have half-expected it not to.

‘Is this another way of confirming that I really am of Halbern blood?’

This was definitely a world where ‘I’ had died, yet nothing happened to me at all. That made it feel strangely unsettling.

“Huh? What’s that…?”

As we were heading toward the annex, Luka spotted something and pulled me along.

The white marble pavilion in the center of the garden was a structure even I had never seen before.

Unlike the other buildings, which were rusted and broken, this stone structure looked pristine—as if it had just been built.

“Wow, what is this place? Guess it really is a duke’s estate—there’s all kinds of stuff here. Huh? This is… a sarcophagus?”

Inside the pavilion were a small stone coffin and a large gravestone.

『 Arellin Sigria Halbern, Resting Here 』

“Huh? Arellin? Huh? Arel…lin…….”

Luka stared blankly at me, his confused gaze fixed on my face.

Ignoring Luka—who looked like he was starting to realize something—I quietly examined the grave, which was clearly made with great care.

It was far too elaborate for the grave of a young lady who had lived less than seven years.

There wasn’t a speck of dust on the sarcophagus or gravestone. The lilies filling the space hadn’t wilted at all, still releasing a fresh, vibrant fragrance.

All thanks to a combination of permanent preservation magic and blessing magic.

“Ha.”

It was a ridiculous sight.

Even royalty didn’t go this far. Seriously—why would Dad put my grave in a place like this?

My head throbbed.

Did he really seal off the entire estate on purpose after I died? What on earth was he thinking…? Then again, this wasn’t the only thing about Dad that was hard to understand.

‘Why does he keep searching through ruins, anyway?’

Was that connected to his disappearance too? They didn’t seem related, yet it kept bothering me.

Some vague intuition told me this was tied to the reason my dad had suddenly vanished.

As I stood there frowning, lost in thought, Luka broke the silence.

“…It seems Duke Halbern loved his daughter very much.”

“Does it look that way?”

“Yes. The rumors were… really bad, from what I remember. But seeing this, I can feel it.”

Dad loved me…

“Is that so……”

Thinking about it like this brought back memories of him. Like the first time we ever met alone. Back then, even though we lived in the same estate, he barely paid me any attention—so running into him had just been awkward.

What was it he said to me then?

“Why—does it piss you off that some stranger you’ve never seen before is running around calling himself your dad?”

A laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

In many ways, he wasn’t very ‘dad-like.’ I hadn’t really thought of him as my dad back then either.

‘Back when he was more like an old man than a father.’

Suddenly, a wave of longing washed over me.

“I miss my dad.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said I miss my dad.”

Luka looked at me like he couldn’t understand why dad was suddenly coming up here, but my thoughts had already drifted to my father—wandering this world after losing me.

Come to think of it, my master once asked me something like this.

Whether I was unconsciously avoiding looking for my biological father… because of him.

‘Maybe that really is the reason.’

For me, having that dad alone was enough.

“Luka, stay here.”

“What? Why?”

“From here on, I’m going somewhere you can’t follow.”

I really did miss my dad.

And to do that, it was time to finally accomplish the purpose of coming here.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

 

Halbern’s Secret Archive

I was worried that, since the world had changed, I might not be able to enter—but it was an unnecessary concern. Just as I had easily entered the estate, I was also able to enter the secret archive without trouble.

Halbern is Halbern, no matter the world.

The problem was—

“Mac! Hello? Hey—anyone here?!”

Mac, the dream fairy and the owner of this secret archive, was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t he showing up?”

I felt really awkward at the absence of the baby elephant who I had assumed would appear without fail.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with the structure of this archive, but somehow, Mac’s absence felt closely connected to the ruined state of the Halbern estate.

“Why is this place like this too…?”

Maybe because the dream fairy Mac was gone, the secret archive itself looked wrong. Some parts writhed in pitch-black waves, as if eaten by something. Some parts were completely shattered into pieces. Others were clumped together, as if someone had kneaded them like dough.

I was wondering whether I could even reach Dad’s archive safely in a place like this when—

Woooong.

The sacred relic, which had stayed quiet except when I met Dad, began to glow and shine toward somewhere. It was like it was showing me the way.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a mass-produced relic? Why does it feel so effective?”

The regent duke had acted a bit suspicious when he gave it to me. Could it actually be a real sacred relic or something?

“Well, probably not.”

Still, I decided that when I got back, I’d buy another one from the temple—just in case. Following the light of the relic, I arrived at Dad’s archive, which was on the verge of collapsing.

Its vast size and overwhelming number of books— no matter how many times I saw it, it was impressive.

“Why does Dad have so many books anyway?”

I had the same thought I always did whenever I came here, and at that moment, I picked up a book.

Woooong—.

“Huh?”

The necklace, which had been giving off a soft glow, suddenly burst with an enormous light, completely covering the entire archive.

Startled by the sudden brightness, I shut my eyes. When I opened them again, a different scene greeted me.

“This is……”

Titles written in an unfamiliar script had appeared on books that had been more than half blank before.

And just like always—

I could read the titles.

《The 5321st Year of the 1st Regression》
《The 5321st Year of the 232nd Regression》
《The 5321st Year of the 42nd Regression》

《The 5321st Year of the 5214th Regression》

Regressions that always started from a certain point in time. Endlessly piling numbers of cycles.

From the year 5321 to 5336.

The number of volumes wasn’t always the same. Sometimes four volumes. Sometimes six years’ worth. Sometimes as many as fifteen.

As if to suggest that Dad hadn’t lived the same life every time.

“…Ah.”

My mind went blank, and without realizing it, I covered my mouth.

I lifted my head and looked around.

Books that had clearly been blank—completely empty— were now all filled with similar titles, standing in messy, jumbled order.

“What is this……”

My dad… was a regressor?